Transformation
by Representin' All Day
Summary: Jang is the son of a Fire Nation commander and this is the story of how he helps end the war and his transformation. Kataang, Maiko, Sukka, OC X Ty-Lee Consturctive criticism appreciated. First story. PLEASE REVIEW. I'd like to know what people think.
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar.  
A/N: This is just something I came up with after the series ended and I've been working on it. This story begins on Book 3 all the way to the end._

"_Long ago, the four nations lived in harmony; then everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked. Only the Avatar, master of all four elements could stop them, but  
when the world needed him most, he vanished. A hundred years past two Southern Water Tribe siblings discovered the new Avatar, an Airbender named Aang. Although  
many say that his Airbending skills are great, he has a lot to learn before he is ready to face the Fire Lord and his army. But the entire world knows that Aang can save the  
world_." I first heard those words when I visited by first home, the city of Ran-Chen. I heard it from two elderly Earth Kingdom men in ragged clothes sitting on the  
side of a tea shop, whispering to make sure that none of the Fire Nation soldiers heard them. When I heard those words it gave me hope. Although I come from the Fire Nation, I didn't believe that it was right for the Fire Lord to take over the world. This is the story of my transformation, my change, the story of how my friends and I finally ended the 100 year old war.

My name is Jang Lei Won, the son of the Supreme Commander of the Fire Nation army. I was born in the city of Ran-Chen, the oldest Fire Nation city of the Fire Nation colonies; it was first founded by Fire Lord Sozin. My grandfather, another Supreme Commander was based in Ran-Chen by Fire Lord Azulon, and with him, he brought my father and my grandmother. As a child my father met my mother, the daughter of a high city official. Almost immediately the two fell in love, and married as soon as my father turned 18. A few months after the marriage my grandfather passed thus leaving my father with the title. It also helped that my father was the best Firebender in Ran-Chen. By the time I was born, my parents moved to the homeland Capital, and because of my forefathers' legacy, reputation, and ranks we were treated like royalty.

When I was 7 my mother died, and ever since then my father never re-married. My mother's death broke me; my mother and I were very close. When she died my father became even stricter and pushed me harder in my training and studies since my mother wasn't there anymore to defend me. It was rough. I became silent and hardly showed my emotions, which was fine by my father. If he wasn't yelling at me for not being perfect in my Firebending stance or not performing up to his par, my father would say absolutely no word to me unless it was of utmost importance. My father was hard, and trained me to become the warrior that he was. In the end the results changed me from a small, defenseless kid to a tall, dangerous and feared man.

Now, I am a 6'3" 17 year old. I am known as the best Firebender in the Royal Academy, and one of the most feared next to the Princess and the Fire Lord. If you were to put me in a fight between the two and me, I knew I can defeat them. It is not a matter of pride but the truth; I am more dangerous than they for I have pushed Firebending to the extreme and I can do moves with lightning that no one has dreamed possible. Along with my Firebending training, my father enrolled me in lesson of learning the way of the sword by the great master himself, Piandao. After 13 years of practicing the art, I have finally perfected it. I was also known for being strong, both mentally and physically. I could defeat anyone who dared to oppose me; I could fight the best of the Royal Family's personal guards and bring them down without problems. My father has put me through a lot of mental challenges, some ranging from putting me in a small enclosed space for hours at a time to putting me down when I did nothing wrong. Despite those rough years, the outcome became great for me.


	2. Chapter 2

One day I was taking a stroll through the gardens behind our home. I had just recently finished my first half of training so I was still in my normal training clothes, which was nothing more than my long red, silk pants that covered my bare feet. While I train I don't like having to wear a shirt so my father did not force me, thus revealing my muscled abdomen, my wide shoulders, and my muscular arms. After my training I usually go to the gardens to relax my mind and to calm me. All the servants know that I don't like being disturbed there so I was rather surprised to hear light scuffling feet coming closer to me. I clenched my fists ready for an attack. When I saw it was just Lee Ra, a boy of merely 13, I quickly unclenched my fists. He addressed me, his head bowed down, "Master Jang, your father has asked me to tell you that the both of you shall be going to the Fire Lord's Palace for the welcoming of the Princess and the Prince after they took over Ba Sing Se. Your father has also asked me to inform you that you will be demonstrating your skills to the Royal Family and two of the Princess' closest friends. He said that you are allowed to wear your normal training attire, and that you should meet him in the front gates."

I looked over to Lee Ra and saw sweat dripping down his face. I sensed the boy's fear and felt pity for him. He shouldn't be here, but this was the only way to provide for his sick mother and two younger siblings since his father died in the accursed and stupid war. My face devoid of any emotion, my tone blank as I said, "So the Princess has finally returned and with the exiled Prince no less. I guess that means that the Avatar has fallen, and the Fire Nation will take over the world. When did they return from the Earth Kingdom?" The young servant stammered, "J-Just a week ago, sir." I nodded my head and wordlessly made my way back to the house. Along the way I was flocked with servants waiting for me, one putting on my training robe and tying the sash around my waist and another tying my long uneven black hair that reached a little below my ears and tied it into a top knot. I continued walking to the gates and met my father there. Silently, we headed towards the Palace.

Once we made into the throne room, I could see Fire Lord Ozai sitting on his high throne, flames surrounding him. He smiled coldly; the shadows in the room made his face look even fiercer than normal. Through the corner of my eye I saw 4 people leaning slightly on one of the marble columns, a little farther away from where my father and I were standing. Since the only light coming from the room came from the flames, the room was filled with shadows, making it hard for me to see the faces of the 4 clearly. I was about to take a closer look when my father went on his knees and bowed before the Fire Lord. That bow was completely unnecessary but my father liked to stay on the good side of the Fire Lord. I on the other hand, stayed on my feet and didn't bother to bow despite my father's angered looks and Ozai's cold, questioning glare. He kept his cold eyes on me as he said, "It is customary for everyone, even my own children to bow before me, the Fire Lord. What makes you any different?"

I replied, my voice containing an edge of mockery, "With all due respect Fire Lord Ozai, these are new robes, I wouldn't want to put unnecessary creases in them." It was plain to see that my training robe was already worn and creased but I didn't really care about being on the wrong side of the Fire Lord. Rage flashed in Ozai's eyes but it did not last very long. The cold look returned as he said icily, "I am sorry to hear that, but thanks to my understanding and patient nature I shall excuse your actions for today. But I warn you, the next time you disrespect me, it shall end badly for you," he paused to glare at me before he continued. "Now as you know, my reason for calling you here was to prove whether you are the greatest Firebender in the homeland or if it is just a mere rumor. I have also heard that you are a skilled fighter, and an excellent swordsman. You shall be demonstrating those skills before my children, their friends and I. In the end I shall allow them to demonstrate their skills to you, and we shall see whether you are the best."


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: So here's Chapter 3. I hope you people like it. Please review, I'd like to know what your opinion is of my story. Thanks._

I heard a mocking edge in Ozai's tone as he spoke but nonetheless I kept my face expressionless and blank. I nodded my head slightly and walked a few steps forward, and was able to see the Princess, the Prince and their friends. I saw the Princess with a simple red robe that reached down to her feet, her hair tied into a long ponytail, except for two strands on either sides of her face. Her face had a look of interest, one that resembled a predator examining the prey before the attack. When I looked into her eyes I immediately saw the same cold, power hungry features she shared with her father. There was no doubt in my mind that she was Ozai's daughter. The Prince stood right next to her, his face scowling. The Prince had worn a simple red cloak lined with gold that also reached to his feet. His black hair was uneven and fell over his face, the way mine does when it is not in a top knot. When I looked at his face, I saw that the upper right side, around the eye was burned and scarred. I knew the story about the scar; he received it in an Agni Kai against his father for speaking out in a war meeting, and for 3 years he lived exile and finally came back after the fall of Ba Sing Se. In his eyes I saw confusion, and bitterness but I also saw that he was not in any way like his father or sister. His eyes held no cold fire in them or arrogance, in the back of my mind I had a feeling that Zuko was going to influence a great deal in the war, be it good or bad I did not know. Standing next to him was a girl who also had long red robes with gloved hands that were cut off by the fingertips. When she moved her arm slightly, the robes covering her wrists pulled back a fraction of a bit, that's when I saw black clasps covering her wrists, and I knew that it would be very easy to hide blades or tiny little knives there. This girl's expression was absolutely bored, and expressionless, her eyes were the same. I knew that to achieve that level of lack of expression, she had many years to perfect it, like me. She had two small buns on the top of her head while the rest of her long hair was split into two ponytails Next to the gloomy girl was someone very opposite of her. This girl was wearing a pink Fire Nation shirt that was slightly above her stomach and pink pants that reached down to her ankles. Her expression was cheerful and bubbly. She had a long braid that reached her waist and two strands of hair at the sides of her face like the Princess. In her eyes, it revealed that she was generally a happy person but there was a hidden fear in them. Fear to what, I still did not know. When I saw her I was entranced by her beauty, her face held such innocence and ease that it was hard not to like her, but I knew that if she was friends with the Princess she had a talent that most did not have.

After I analyzed the 4, I took a deep breath and slowly took off my training robe and gave it to a waiting servant, who ran back to the corner as soon as he had it, revealing my entire muscular upper body. The gold bracelets on my upper arms moved with my muscles as I began to demonstrate my Firebending moves. I felt all eyes on me as I showed the simplest of moves to the very complicated but I didn't care, I was used to the stares. As I was nearing the end of my demonstration, I showed my audience my ability to generate and manipulate lightning. I pressed my index finger with my middle one so that they were side-by-side on both hands, the rest of my fingers folded down. I moved my fingers in a circular motion, cleared my mind and separated the positive and negative energies in the air. As soon as I separated the two energies the lightning flowed through my body and escaped through my fingers. I moved the lightning around with my fingers using my body as the path, and without warning I shot the lightning to Ozai. I watched as the lightning moved closer to Ozai and as the fear started to creep into his face. The lightning was inches from his face when I pulled it back into my body. I felt the energy surging through me but I let the energy in me flow and guided the lightning to my stomach and out through my mouth where it was already nothing more than smoke. I breathed out the smoke from my mouth slowly and watched as it slowly disappeared into the air.

Everyone in the room looked at me, even my own father who did not know I could even do that move. The fear that Ozai had on his face disappeared as quickly as it came and resumed its usual cold, hard stare. Ozai clapped his hands and almost immediately, 10 soldiers came through the doors and formed a circle around me, leaving no room for me to back away. The Fire Lord smiled and said, "Your Firebending display was most entertaining and impressive. Now we shall test your ability in hand-to-hand combat by fighting these soldiers. These are my very best, and they have not lost any fight through out their lives, my personal favorite of any of the other guards that I have. They are even better than the Yu Yan Archers. If you defeat them you shall have earned their respect but if you lose, it shall be very painful for you. Let us see how you fare in a fight."


	4. Chapter 4

I glared back at the Fire Lord with the same level of iciness, and replied, "There is always a chance to try something for the first time, and I'll make sure that your soldiers will remember their first time losing to a teenager throughout the rest of their lives. And don't worry Fire Lord Ozai, I'll be sure to not to injure them so badly." As soon as those words left my mouth I lunged at the soldier in front of me and quickly rendered him unconscious with one punch to the head. It wasn't long before the other guards came at me and it also wasn't long before they were sprawled on the floor either cringing in pain or unconscious like the first guard. Barely 10 minutes passed and all the guards were on the floor groaning in pain, the unconscious soldiers finally waking up and also groaning from the pain. It took another 5 minutes before all of them stood on their feet unsteadily, all looking nervously at Ozai fearing his anger. Ozai looked disgusted and furious and said, his voice dripping with hostility, "Get out of my sight! You have dishonored me and dishonored your entire nation. I shall deal with your punishments later." I was about to object but one hard glare from my father stopped me. The soldiers bent their heads from shame but I saw that they all looked at me, respect in their eyes. I turned to them, and bowed. My right hand straight up, my left hand in a fist on the base of my hand and bent my head. The soldiers nodded slightly and continued to walk out of the room.

Once the soldiers left I returned my gaze back to the Princess and her friends. I saw that the Princess had an impressed smirk on her face; her eyes looked like they were in deep thought, and knowing her it would probably have something to do with planning the best possible way to beat me or to try and get me to be on her side. The Prince glared at me his eyes angry, his scowl deepened. He stared at me like it was my fault that his father was angry, well I guess it was my fault but it was his father that put me in that position. I could see that the Prince was quick to get angry, that would be his down fall once he challenges me. The gloomy girl next to him still had a brooding and bored expression, but when I looked in her hands I saw short stilettos in between each finger gleaming from the fire. I eyed her cautiously, if she wanted to use her blades then she let her use them, but what she didn't know was that I had my own set of surprises. The overly cheerful girl was standing using her hands, her legs straight in the air. I could see that she was a contortionist, and an acrobat. These skills would make her agile and quick on her feet, but that still didn't explain why the Princess would want to be her friend, there must be something else that made her special. The only way to find out was for us to fight, which wouldn't take long.

I looked at the 4 of them waiting for an attack, ready for anything. Out of the corner of my eye I saw lightning coming towards me. If I hadn't been expecting an attack from the Princess I would've been hit, but unfortunately for the Princess I heard stories about her and I knew how she liked to attack. Quickly, I absorbed the energy and redirected it back to the Princess and her gang. I saw the Prince's look of surprise when I redirected the lightning before the four quickly scattered to avoid getting hit. I saw the Princess roll out of the way and was about to send another surge of lightning at me, but before she could I sent a big burst flame, mixed with lightning coming out from my mouth. The Princess's eyes widened from shock, and was barely able to jump out of the blast's way. The column that was behind her was surrounded with flames.

As I was getting ready to send more blasts to the Princess, her brother took my attention away from her by sending a fire whip in my direction. I stepped to the side before the whip could hit me, and before I could send an attack on the Prince, he flashed the whip at me again but this time I wrapped my hand around the end of the whip and jerked it away from him. I saw Zuko stumble forward and since he lost his stance the fire whip dissolved and disappeared. He quickly regained his composure and sent a big wave of fire in my direction. His attack lacked the ferociousness that his sister had, and it was easy for me to block it. Tauntingly I yelled out to him, "You call yourself a Firebender?! The moves you do now, I could do in my sleep at 6 years old."

The Prince reacted the way I was expecting him to, he got frustrated and attacked without thinking about anything except to get back at me. He focused his entire attention at trying to find an opening to attack that he didn't notice me send a small line of fire directed to his feet. When the Crown Prince finally saw the attack it was too late, I had already moved in and broke his stance by sweeping him of his feet with my leg.

Before I could make sure that the Prince was down, I saw a quick movement from my side vision. When I turned I saw a stiletto headed straight for me, in one swift movement I slightly bent my back and watched as the blade sliced through the air where my body had been a second earlier. Once the blade whizzed past me, I stood up straight and saw the gloomy girl holding another blade in between her fingers, her eyes in fierce determination.

I saw her aim her blade at my pants to try and pin me to the wall, but before the blade touched the fabric I caught it between my index and middle finger. I held up the blade to her, and that surprised her so much that she forgot to throw the remaining stilettos in her hands.

I surprised her even more when I took out my own blades from two 4 in. long, about 1 cm. thick gold clasps around my wrists. The blades were leaf thin, about 2 cm. wide and 4 in. long. The blades were so thin that I could fit 30 blades for each spring, and in each clasp there was 10 springs which gave me 300 blades for each clasp. Each blade was specially made for me by a Metalbender I met in Ran-Chen. He was kind in enough to give me a small chest full of extra blades that contained about 10,000 more. He usually sends me more from time to time just so that I would have enough. Each blade was made from the same steel used for building the tanks and the catapults. Every time I bent my forward it triggered the spring, thus releasing one blade into my awaiting fingers.

With two blades in each hand, I threw them to the girl's sleeves causing her to fly to the wall, unable to remove herself. I repeated this action twice to make sure that the Princess and the Prince were also unable to fight back. With the three pinned to the wall it left me one more, the overly cheerful, acrobat girl.

I looked around the room and saw no trace of her. I was about to start ripping of the curtains when I heard a light giggle coming from above me. Cautiously I looked up and saw the girl hanging on the beams by her legs. After a few seconds of her laughing she jumped down doing flips along the way. Gracefully she landed in front of me.

As she stood there, I could not help but feel once again entranced by her beauty. As much as I tried to get my attention back to the fight, I couldn't help but feel helpless as I stared at the younger girl. I stood there numb, my heart beating at an abnormally fast pace and I couldn't do anything about it. Her voice was excited and cheerful when she said, "Hi, my name is Ty-Lee. What's your name?" Without waiting for an answer she jumped over me, and said as I spun around, "You're kinda cute. What's your name?" She asked again while she cart wheeled away.

After she spoke, I snapped back to reality and did a few half-hearted Fire Punches in her direction. For some strange reason I couldn't bring myself to attack her as viciously as I had with the others. Calmly, Ty-Lee dodged the fire and quickly came close to me and pressed to bent fingers on the underside of my right elbow and pressed her knuckles on my left side. All of the sudden, the fire from my hands disappeared and I felt a little weaker. My arms felt slightly numb, and then her actions finally registered in my mind. She had blocked my chi by pressing my pressure points.

Hastily I pulled out two of my knives from springs wrapped around my ankle, hidden by my pants and threw them to the girl's arm sleeves. I saw her fly to the wall and land a few feet away from the Princess. I grabbed another two blades and threw them at her pants to prevent her from moving. I looked at the four and made sure that they were not capable of escaping, I returned my gaze to Ozai. He stared at me, his expression like the Princess's before I had demonstrated my Firebending. Finally he said, "Very well done. A few mistakes but it's fine, an overall good performance, though." I growled in anger, but Ozai just smiled spitefully and turned to my father. "General Jan-Lee, your son has been trained well, and I praise you for that. But I advise that you to work on his attitude before it gets him into trouble that he cannot wriggle out of." Ozai then turned to the servant that was holding my robe and ordered, "Release my children and their friends, and leave this room, they have not been properly introduced."


	5. Chapter 5

Soon after the Fire Lord and my father walked past me, they left the room. The servant walked up to me and gave me my robe back before quickly pulling out my blades from the others' clothes and nervously handed them back to me, eyeing the blades worriedly. Once I took them from his hands, the servant walked to the door as fast as he could without running.

Slowly I put the blades back to their springs, not bothering to look up at the others as they came towards me. I saw four pairs of feet standing in front of me, but I still hadn't bothered to look up. After a while I heard the Princess clearing her throat, when I looked up I saw her smile, and despite my father's training in not fearing anything, her smile sent shivers down my spine. Then she said something that surprised me, "I've also heard about your reputation here in the Fire Nation, I now understand why they praise you so." From all the stories I've heard about the Princess, she wasn't one for compliments. The Princess seemed to notice my surprise since she paused before continuing. "I am sure that you know my name but I'll say it again for introduction purposes. I'm Azula, the Princess of the Fire Nation. Beside me is my _dear_ older brother Zuko, who I also like to call Zuzu." Zuko scowl deepened as he glared angrily at his sister but said nothing.

"Next to him is Zuko's girlfriend, Mai, the daughter of the governor of Omashu." Mai's expression stayed bored and blank, but in her eyes I saw a flash of anger while she looked at Azula but it disappeared as quickly as it had come. Azula continued, "And next to Mai is the daughter of a nobleman, Ty-Lee. Mai and Ty-Lee are my closest friends from the Royal Fire Academy for Girls."

I acknowledged Azula and her friends in a brief nod but said nothing to them. Silently, I turned my back on them as I picked up my robe from the floor when I dropped it to get back my blades from the servant. My back was still turned as I put on my robe, not bothering to tie it, and pocketed my hair ribbon. Then I heard footsteps coming form behind me. With my side vision I saw Zuko reaching out his hand to my shoulder to spin me around to face them. Without showing any signs at seeing him, I let him reach out his hand but before he could grab my shoulder, I grabbed his hand and twisted it without looking at him. I heard Zuko grunt in pain as I turned around and held his twisted arm to his back. The Prince tried to struggle free but it was all in vain, I had a strong hold on him. He then used his free hand and covered it flames to try and get me off but it didn't work. I grabbed his wrists and absorbed the fire, thus making his attack useless. I then grabbed his other arm and twisted it like the other and put it behind him. He still continued to struggle when I finally said, "I would appreciate it if you would not come up from behind me. It would be better and less painful for you that way." I then released him and watched him stumble forward. He turned to me, his face enraged but I stared back calmly.

It was silent for a few minutes before Azula finally said, "I'm sorry for what Zuzu did, sometimes he gets a little hotheaded. We feel slightly disadvantaged since you know our names but yet we don't know yours. So what is it?" I looked at all of them, and then I finally said, "Jang." Azula nodded and said again, "Well then Jang, we would like for you to join our little circle of friends. It is hard to find decent friends around, and I think that it will be good to have you with us. Do you accept?"

I knew the actual reason for Azula to offer her friendship to me. I was dangerous and she knew I could defeat her so she wanted to use me to her advantage and keep me close to her to make sure I didn't become an enemy. I quickly pondered my options, if I refused Azula would probably do something horrible to get me to join her side, it would have her name written all over it but of course no one would be able prove it was her. If I did accept her friendship, I could keep an eye out on Azula and make sure that she wasn't out threatening my life. In the end I chose the option that would best help me, I nodded in agreement.

Azula smiled triumphantly and said, "Excellent. You can come by here again in the morning and I'll make sure that the guards will allow you in." With that Azula left the room followed by Zuko and Mai. Ty-Lee stayed behind for a few minutes as she said, "I'm really glad that you decided to accept our friendship Jang. I'm sure that we'll all be the best of friends. And don't worry about Azula; I think she likes you, I think that's why she's so nervous, and she's usually more composed than this." With that Ty-Lee stood on her hands and walked off out the door before I could say anything to her.

Ty-Lee's last statement surprised me. Azula liking me and me making her nervous, I couldn't grasp that idea around my head but it did explain all her unnatural kind comments and friendship. I continued to think about that idea until I was back at my own home. I was so engrossed in my thoughts that I didn't notice that I was walking towards my father. I accidentally brushed past him and almost made him lose his balance. When I snapped back to the world, I saw my father look slightly angry and happy. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw that latter emotion in his eyes, I hadn't seen it since before my mother died. I quickly bent my head and mumbled my apology and continued to walk towards my room but my father had a firm grip on my arm. I looked at him, my face hard but my eyes betrayed my confusion. He replied in his deep voice, "Come my son, let us take a walk in the gardens. I'd like to talk to you about something."

I raised my eyebrows in suspicion but nonetheless I nodded and followed him to the garden. I knew that my father would have something big to say because he never called me 'my son' since I was 5 years old and he never spoke one word to me unless I was in the training yard. It was silent for a while as we entered the garden then he said without looking at me. "I arrived from the Fire Lord's Palace a mere 10 minutes ago and I received good news about the Princess and you. It seems that you have accepted the Princess's friendship, and I have also heard from the Fire Lord that the Princess has taken a great liking to you. It is one step closer to your dream about being the next Fire Lord. Do you know what this would mean for our family, our name as the Lei Won's? I want you to stay with Azula, be her friend and if you do things right we shall see where our future shall lead us. Finally Jang, you have done something to make me proud of you."

I ground my teeth and clenched my hands from anger but I didn't protest. I watched as he walked away saying nothing else to me. I let out an angered breath and went to my hidden spot in the gardens. No one but my mother and I knew that it was there, and it was a perfect place for me to relax and cool down.


	6. Chapter 6

The next day I went over to the Palace and met Azula, Zuko, Mai, and Ty-Lee by the grand doors. Azula smiled lightly and Ty-Lee waved enthusiastically. Zuko mouth was in a hard set line but he bent his head slightly along with Mai but her expression was still bored and blank as ever. I followed them into a big grand room decorated with red and gold, the color of fire. In the room were two long red couches on either side of the wall, facing each other. In between these two couches was a large wooden, circular table with a pot of tea and cups in the middle. Cautiously I watched for any signs from the Princess or her friends that would make it seem like they would start another attack. When I saw them all seat down and take a cup of tea from the table, I relaxed a little but still kept my guard up. I tensed up again when I heard Azula say, "Relax Jang, we're not going to attack. You can stop looking around for any sign of danger coming from us because I promise you that we won't attack." I put on a fake smile that looked real enough to pass and said back, "Sorry Princess, old habits die hard. Is there a particular reason why you have called me here in the first place? Time is very valuable and precious, it wouldn't do any good for any of us to waste it. And I have some training that I need to do."

Azula's smile widened as she said, "You are absolutely right Jang. Time is precious and should not be wasted but there is a time and place for everything, but from what your father has told me you train almost everyday and I think that you deserve a break from all that. In a month, all four of us are going to Ember Island because of the meeting my father has with his generals and other confidents. Father does not want us to attend; he said it was a private meeting. We're meeting Lo and Li there, and I'm sure there is enough room if you would care to join us. Of course only if you want to."

I smiled again but this time it came out more as a smirk. I said, "I'm sorry to say that I cannot. I have been given permission to attend that meeting. I've heard that it is very important in dealing with the Fire Nation's sure victory over the world since the Avatar is dead." I paused when I saw Zuko turn away, his face set in a hard line. I registered it in my mind, maybe that information would prove useful to me in the future. I was about to continue on but then my father and Fire Lord Ozai walked in the room. The four stood up from their seats and bowed there heads to my father and Ozai, I was the only who didn't. I saw Ozai flash me one of his usual cold glares at me but I ignored it. Blankly I asked, "Is there something wrong father?" My father smiled in a way that I did not find reassuring. Then he said, "No, there is nothing wrong, but the meeting in a month's time, I'm sorry to say that you cannot go. The Fire Lord has restricted the meeting to only his confidents and the other highest ranked generals. The Fire Lord and I have agreed that you have not yet proved to us that you are worthy to become ranked yet as a military officer, in truth your Firebending could still use more work. There is a better alternative though, I have given you a job to do; you are to accompany the Princess, the Prince and her friends to Ember Island, watch over them and protect them. And it would also allow you to have a vacation from all your duties and training. It's been a while since you have had anyone else to talk to your age. I suggest that you start packing now, a month can come in a blink of an eye." My father smirked and followed right behind Ozai which almost looked like a Sparrowkeet following a person with food.

I ground my teeth together in anger. Zuko then scoffed and said, "So much for the given permission in going to the meeting. It must stink not being able to prove yourself to your father. I wo―" I interrupted him before he could finish his sentence. I said, my voice eerily calm, "I don't know what you are talking about Prince Zuko, everyday I prove myself to my father with my bending and my training. It was not I who was sent to exile for not being able to fight in an Agni Kai. Do you know what that shows? It shows weakness and fear. It was also not I who took 3 years to finally prove himself. Think about it, _Your Highness_."

Zuko clenched his fists and said angrily, "I am not weak and I am not afraid of anything, and I especially don't need your protection in when we get to Ember Island. When we get there I suggest that you keep your distance from me."

I growled and said, "No Prince Zuko, I suggest that _you_ stay out of _my _way. You know what I'm capable of doing." After, I nodded my head slightly and left the room. Once I was out of the room, I headed back to my own home and went in the training room to calm me down. That habit was the result of all those years of being in the training room. It had become my place of solitude and comfort along with my place in the garden.

The next four weeks prior to the Ember Island trip, I was forced to go to the Palace everyday 'to better know the other teens' as my father says but I know he just wants me to get closer to Azula. I spent every dawn and dusk at the Palace. Zuko and I kept out of each other's way but he would still glare at me angrily from time to time but I stared back coolly. In all the time I spent in the Palace I did manage to get close to a person that I did not expect to get along with. Ty-Lee. Ty-Lee and I… I don't know how to explain it. It was like there's a spark that ignited the first time we talked and almost instantly we were friends. All through my life no girl has ever interested or captured my attention the way she does. I'm not the type of person that likes to express my feelings. Over the years, I have learned to put an emotional block over myself, I promised myself that I wouldn't become as vulnerable as I was when my mother died, but Ty-Lee seemed to make that wall crumble with a simple smile. As much as I don't like to admit it, I was losing myself to her, and I didn't want to be released from the feeling. Even though I've only known her for four weeks, I knew that she had already captured my heart.

When the day for the Ember Island Trip finally came, I became so frustrated and angry about not being able to know the Fire Lord's plans. Despite my anger though, I felt a slight thrill about leaving the mainland. When we finally boarded the boat I wore a simple red and gold robe and a dark red pants that reached to my knees underneath my robe. My hair was out of its top knot and my uneven, black hair fell over my eyes. We were being moved by 2 hippoeels and they were known for moving leisurely through the water, which gave the five of us more time to 'get to know one another better' as my father would say. Azula wore something different other than her usual armor and robe. She wore a red shirt that was wrapped around her chest and continued on till it was slightly above her abdomen and was held by a long, wide piece of ribbon from the middle of her shirt to around her neck. She also had a long skirt that reached calves. Her hair was out of its usual top knot and in a small ponytail that only held a few clumps in it. The rest of her hair was flowing behind her with the usual two strands on the side of her face. She was sitting down on one of the wooden benches looking out to the sea while servants were around her offering her refreshments and other things.

Mai was out of her usual robe and wore a red shirt like Azula but hers crossed diagonally from her stomach and she was also wearing a light red cloak that was connected to her red shirt by a gold button. She also wore a long red skirt that reached slightly above her ankles with a black ribbon tied around her waist. Mai still continued to wear her black gloves and I would not be surprised if she still had her springs wrapped around her wrists and ankles. She looked bored as usual, staring blankly at the rushing water. Zuko was sitting right next to her, staring of in the distance, wrapped up in his own thoughts. He wore the same robe as I, and dark red pants that also reached his knees. His hair was also not in his usual top knot like Azula's and his hair fell over his eyes just the way mine always did. He and I still have not resolved our issues yet and I didn't plan to. I knew what he was like, a hot head, a person who thought he was better than everyone else. It didn't matter to me if he was the Crown Prince of the Fire Nation, if he didn't deserve my respect then I would not give it to him.


	7. Chapter 7

Ty-Lee was the same. The only thing she changed for the trip was her clothes. She wore a pink shirt like Azula, slightly above her abdomen, with a thin strip of ribbon connected to her shirt to around her neck to keep it up. She wore a pink skirt with a pink sash to tie around her waist. She was looking forward, her face in a smile. In the month I had known Ty-Lee I have never seen her without her somewhat contagious smile. I cannot believe that I am saying this but I believe that I was in love with Ty-Lee. And I don't know how or why but for some strange reason I felt my heart pull just seeing her.

After two hours the boat stopped by a dock, and when we stepped out of the walkway, we saw Lo and Li standing next to one another. Behind them was a small beach house held up by thick wooden beams. Lo and Li smiled and said simultaneously, "Welcome to Ember Island kids." We looked behind them and saw their beach home. It was small and plain standing on the rocks with beams holding it up in the air. We all looked at it with distaste as we followed the elderly twins into their home. Their home looked similar to the outside, plain. We all took a good looked around but remained silent until Ty-Lee noticed a picture of two beautiful girls standing side by side. She asked the sisters, "Who are these two beautiful women?" Again the two replied at the same time, "Can't you tell? It's Lo and me." They stood side by side like the ladies in the picture. Everyone, even Mai looked surprised, I heard Zuko gag. I myself, stood wide-eyed in disbelief.

They led us to the bedroom to where we were staying. The entire room was covered with beach ornaments and laid out in pink sheets and carpets. Ty-Lee jumped to one of the five beds and said, "I love the seashell bedspread." Mai quickly responded with a dull tone, "Are you serious? It looks like the beach threw up all over this room." Before Ty-Lee could object Lo said, "I know you all are upset, especially you, Jang, about being forced to come here this weekend but Ember Island is a magical place, keep an open mind." Then Li continued, "Give it a chance." Together the sisters said, "And it can help you better understand yourselves and each other. The beach has a special way of smoothing even the most rugged edges." Azula yawned, not wanting to hear the old ladies speaking. After their little speech Lo and Li clapped their hands and said "Time to hit the beach," As they took off their robes and revealed their pink beach outfits.

I smiled as Mai covered Zuko's eyes with one of her gloved hands as the twins left the house to the beach, leaving the five of us there in the little room. The five of us sighed and got ready to go. Ty-Lee changed into a white beach outfit that covered her chest and a short white beach skirt, Azula wearing almost the same thing as Ty-Lee except hers was a dark red. Mai changed into a dark red shirt that wrapped around her chest to slightly above her abdomen, and she also wore a dark red shirt. Zuko and I kept our same clothes from the boat since it was already for the beach.

We walked out of the beach with Azula and Ty-Lee carrying their beach supplies. Azula was just a wide straw mat while Ty-Lee brought a huge pink bag filled with the Spirits know what. Mai and Zuko were walking side by side underneath a dark red umbrella while I followed from the rear. My lips twitched into a slight smile as I watched Azula scare away two little boys who were building a sand castle, claiming the spot as ours. My smile disappeared as quickly as it had come as I saw Ty-Lee getting mobbed by a bunch of other guys trying to woo her. One was even going as far as to soaking up the heat of the sun with his back to block the sun from Ty-Lee; not that I wouldn't do the same. I watched as guy after guy tried to capture Ty-Lee's attention with petty Firebending and worthless objects.

After a few more minutes of watching them, I turned away and sat on the straw mat and stared out in the calm sea. All that was ruined though when Azula called out, "Ty-Lee get over here. You come too, Jang. I want the both of you here, now!" I stood up and watched as Ty-Lee walked with her hands to Azula before I followed her to a Kuai Ball ring. I took off my robe and threw it to the mat. Once I did I felt stares coming from behind me. When I turned I saw a crowd of girls blushing and staring at Zuko and me. For the first time since the Palace incident, we looked at each other and shrugged. As soon as we were ready, Azula huddled us together and said some strategic things that we needed to do to defeat the other group of teenagers.

We took our positions and started the game. Kuai Ball is a game where we have to be quick on the feet and hit the hard red ball above the net using nothing but your legs to hit the ball on the other team's side. The game only lasted a few moments when Azula sent the ball shooting down with a wave of fire that burned the net. We all stood next to each other and formed a half circle. We were all silent until two guys walked up to us. With one look I could already tell that they thought that the entire world revolved around them. One was a couple inches shorter than me with broad shoulders, and muscled arms with gold bracelets on his upper arm. The other was slightly shorter and leaner than the first boy. The taller boy looked at Mai and Ty-Lee and said, "We saw you awesome skills at Kuai Ball and we wanted to know if you want to come to a party I'm having over at my place. What do you say?" Before Ty-Lee or Mai could respond, Azula said, "What about me, my brother and my friend? Aren't you going to invite us," she paused when she saw the two boys look at each other. Then she continued, "You don't know who we are, do you?"

The taller one replied with an arrogant tone, "Don't you know who we are? We're Chan and Ruon-Jian." Zuko stalked forward angrily but stopped when Azula held out a hand to block him. Then the tall one, Chan, said, "But fine, you're invited but just so you know some of the most important teenagers of the Fire Nation are going to be there so try to act normal. Oh, and just so you know my father is one the generals for the Fire Nation army, so no funny business." Azula replied in a chilling tone, "Don't worry, we'll be there." The two shrugged and walked away. Azula turned to us and said, "I guess we have a party to get to tonight. Jang, Ty-Lee pack the stuff we have to get ready."

I let out an angry breath and followed Ty-Lee to our stuff. Azula was pushing me to my limit, but I knew that if I defied her my punishment would be so much worse. I walked over and put Ty-Lee's stuff in her bag while she cheerfully rolled up the straw mat. When she finished she came over to me and said, "Those guys who helped me were so sweet. They're all pretty cool, I think you would have gotten along well with them Jang." I snorted angrily and said bitterly, my jealousy and anger with Azula affecting my temper, "What do you mean? I highly doubt that me and your 10 other boyfriends would have gotten along. They're simple minded and are hardly capable to handle a girl such as yourself. I also doubt that they give a care in the world about you and are only attracted to your face and nothing about the real you. And the thing is you get so narrow-minded that you can't even tell. Enjoy the attention that you're getting."

Ty-Lee's eyes widened from surprise at my sudden mood change. I felt guilty at my retort but I could not get control of my emotions. She yelled back, "Well fine. Unlike you Jang, I at least am sociable and talk to people. You're just a big cold, cruel jerk. And yes, I will enjoy the attention that I'm getting because unlike you, those guys appreciate me." She turned away and stormed off to a crowd of guys waving at her, leaving the straw mat. I sighed, put on my robe and carried the stuff back to the twins' beach home. When I arrived, Azula immediately noticed Ty-Lee's absence and questioned, "Where's Ty-Lee? We can't be late to the party." I sighed again and said, "She's at the beach hanging out with her boyfriends. She knows when to come back."

As the sun began to set, Ty-Lee came back. She was back to her usual cheerful self but did not even take one look at me. We sat around a large circular table on the balcony, the table piled high with food. Lo and Li sat nearest to the door, with Ty-Lee to their left. Azula sat on the cushion next to Ty-Lee while I sat right beside Azula. To the right of Lo and Li sat Mai and Zuko, leaning against one another. It was quiet until Zuko said to Azula, "Why didn't you tell those guys at the beach who we were?" Azula replied with an answer that surprised me, "I wanted to see how it would be like to be treated if people didn't know who we were. To see what it would be like to be normal." We were all quiet until Lo and Li said, "Like the waves wash away the footprints in the sand, Ember Island gives everyone a clean slate," Abruptly they stood up and clapped their hands in synchronization and said together, "To the party."


	8. Chapter 8

Our little group walked across the beach to one of the paths that led to Chan's house. We all wore the same clothes that we had worn on the boat. Azula knocked on the wooden door and was answered by a confused Chan. He said, "You're kind of early, no one's here yet." The Princess said, "We heard someone say that you will be partying from dusk until dawn. So here we are."

"It's just an expression," the tall boy said.

Azula then replied, "That is why we are the perfect party guests, we are very punctual." Chan just shrugged and let us in. Azula led the way, I followed behind her with the others coming from behind. When we were inside Chan quickly repeated to us again that his father was a general and that we should not mess anything up. I saw Azula smile slightly and quickly walked up to Chan and said, "I like your outfit Chan, it's so sharp. I mean it could probably cut through the thick stone walls of the Earth Kingdom and bring it down to a mere dust, because it so, you know, sharp." Chan, unsure of what to say just said, "Umm, thanks, I guess." Chan left quickly, leaving Azula looking slightly frustrated and disappointed. I nearly laughed out loud at the ridiculousness of the situation but luckily I managed to bottle it up. Usually, I'm not the type of person who laughs a lot, but when I do it has to be something quite hilarious, and this was one of those times.

We followed Chan around the room and then we saw Ruon-Jian standing in front of the mirror fixing his hair. I rolled my eyes and lagged behind the group. In front of me I heard Zuko tell Mai, "Look at him, he thinks he's so great. What do you think of him?" Mai replied in her usual tone, "I don't have an opinion about him, I hardly know him." Zuko replied accusingly, "You like him don't you?" Mai gave him an exasperated sigh as Zuko turned around to glare angrily at the other boy.

About a half an hour later, the rest of the guests came into the huge house. I leaned against one of the wooden beams and watched the people around me. As soon as the guys saw Ty-Lee they all crowded around her asking her who she likes and other dumb stuff. I even heard some guys asking each other how they knew Ty-Lee while I just stood there clenching my fists. They asked her who she liked the best, each of their faces wondering and anxious. I smiled when I heard Ty-Lee say, "Look it doesn't matter who I met first because I like all of you." Then one of the guys asked, "But which one of us do you _like,_ like?" Ty-Lee became frantic and replied, "I don't know, I don't know." They started advancing closer to the girl, but before I could help her she started punching the guys around her with quick jabs at the pressure points. They all fell down to the floor incapable of moving. My eyes went wide, I knew she could block people's chi but I didn't know that she could render a person paralyzed.

She did a cartwheel over them and passed me to go to Azula. She threw a hard look at me; it looked strange on her usually happy face. I wanted to apologize but my stupid pride wouldn't let me. When she neared Azula her face went back to normal. I walked up a few steps so I could hear what they were talking about. I heard her say to the Princess, "I'm so glad you're here, Azula, I thought I would never get away from those guys. They won't leave me alone, I guess they all like me too much." Azula replied cruelly, "Come on Ty-Lee, you can't actually be this ignorant," she paused when Ty-Lee questioned her. "They only like you because you make it so easy for them. You're not a challenge you're a tease. It's not like they actually care about who you really are." I couldn't see Ty-Lee's face but I saw her covering her eyes with her hands. I could tell she was crying. I was about to go to her defense when I heard Azula apologize and ay that she was only jealous of Ty-Lee. Ty-Lee then asked her why she was since she was the most beautiful, perfect girl alive. I stopped listening after then since I didn't need to hear compliments about Azula. It was few minutes later that I looked back at them, along with everyone when we heard her laughing loudly in a non-Azula kind of way. I bent my head in embarrassment as I stifled my laughter.

After the entire ordeal was forgotten, which only took about 5 minutes, I saw Azula walk up to Chan. She said to him, "Chan I'm ready for the tour of the house." Chan shrugged and handed his drink to the girl he was talking to, Azula followed him, placing her cup on the girl's head. After that they headed up to the second floor. Fifteen minutes later, I saw Chan come back down the stairs, scratching the back of his head. Azula came down soon after and I saw that she wasn't going anywhere near him. I scoffed and could only imagine what Azula could have done to scare the general's son.

At the other side of the room I heard a commotion between Zuko and Ruon-Jian. It seemed that Ruon-Jian talked to Mai and she actually responded back, and of course with Zuko being the hothead that he is, he got angry. I saw him walk over to the boy and push him away. Ruon-Jian spun to the center of the room and asked angrily what Zuko was doing. The Prince replied, "Stop talking to my girlfriend." The other boy made the mistake of going closer to the Prince and saying, "Relax we're at a party." Zuko held out his hand and pushed the other boy with such force that he landed on a vase at the other side of the room. Mai then stood up, "Zuko what is wrong with you? You're temper is exploding. You blow up over every little thing. You're impatient and hotheaded and angry."

"At least I feel something, as opposed to you. You have no passion for anything. You're just a big blah," replied the angry Prince. I saw Mai's eyes showed some hurt before she turned around to say, "We're done Zuko. It's over."

Chan came running from the other side of the house saying, "Who broke my Nana's vase?" Ruon-Jian pointed to Zuko. Chan went over to the Prince and said, "That's it you out of here." Zuko refrained from hitting Chan and complied, walking out the door as the two friends said insults about the Prince. It wasn't long before I followed Zuko's suit and walked out of the house too, passing Ty-Lee on the way. I looked at her with regret filling my face and eyes. I saw that she wasn't ready to forgive me so I sighed angrily and slammed the door.

When I made it out to the beach I saw Zuko heading to his old beach house. It was the grandest house that I've seen on Ember Island. I stayed on the beach, despite me and Zuko not being the best of friends I knew that he needed some time by himself. Behind me I heard footsteps coming near to the place I was. I jumped to my feet and got into my fighting stance only to see the three girls coming near me. I dropped my arms to my sides but my guard still didn't drop. Azula took one look at me, rolled her eyes and said, "Drop the guard Jang, it's only us. Where's Zuko? Wait, never mind. I think I know. You guys wait here, I'll go get him."

I growled slightly and said under my breath so Azula wouldn't hear, "All more reason why I shouldn't drop my guard."

The three of us watched as Azula walked to the house. I walked back to my spot on the sand, staring out at the waves lapping at the edge of the beach. It was silent for a few minutes until I heard Mai ask Ty-Lee, "So why are you and Jang not sitting together and talking? Every time I see you two, you're either laughing and talking or just looking at each other." I turned around to face Mai but did not respond to her question. I looked over at Ty-Lee her face turned to the side, her face set in a hard line. Before Mai could say anything else, Azula returned with Zuko trailing behind her.

Azula walked over to a log that was right to the left of the fire pit. Zuko walked up to Mai and said, "Where's your new boyfriend?" Mai turned away but Zuko seemed to regret what he said and tried to put his hand around her waist and said, "Are you cold?" She didn't respond except for smacking his hand away. Ty-Lee on the other hand replied with, "I'm freezing." Zuko's lips turned upward in a slight smile, as he said looking up to his old beach house, "I'll make a fire. There's plenty of stuff to burn in there."


	9. Chapter 9

He returned with some old papers and a huge portrait of him and his family. It was a picture showing the missing Fire Lady, and Zuko and his sister still young. The Fire Lord was sitting on a chair behind Zuko his hand on the younger Zuko's shoulder and he actually looked happy; a small smile on his face. I watched in mild interest as Zuko throw the picture in the flame. For a while we quietly watched the picture burn until Ty-Lee said, "That's a picture of your family. Why are you throwing it into the fire?" Zuko lashed out at her, "I don't care. And you don't know me." Ty-Lee whispered, "I know you, you do care."

Zuko glared at her angrily as he said, "No, you don't. I'm not like you. You're stuck in your little Ty-Lee world where everything is perfect. Sorry to break it to you but it's not," he paused. Then he said, trying to impersonate the bubbly 14 year old. "Ooh look at me, I'm Ty-Lee. Watch me walk on my hands." He did a handstand and let himself fall to the ground on his back. He then said, "Circus freak!"

Azula giggled and I felt my anger skyrocketing. Tears fell from Ty-Lee's eyes as she kneeled at the sand in front of her. She said angrily, "Yes, I am a circus freak and I'm proud to be one. Do you know what it's like to have 6 sisters that are exactly the same as you are? It's like you don't even have your own name. I joined the circus because I was afraid to live my life as a part of a matched set. Circus freak is a compliment!" Mai then said, "That also explains why you need 10 boyfriends." Ty-Lee looked at her questioningly, so Mai continued, "You didn't get enough attention when you were little so your trying to make up for it now."

Ty-Lee responded back angrily, "You were an only child for 15 years. Don't start telling us that your childhood was hard." Mai leaned back against the rock she was sitting on and said, "My childhood wasn't hard. I got everything I wanted…. As long as I behaved and sat still, or didn't speak unless spoken to. My mother said that we had my dad's political career to think about and we didn't want that to disappear. I-"

Ty-Lee cut in. "Yet your aura is still dingy and gray. You don't have single bit of happiness in your entire body." Mai shrugged her shoulders and said simply, "I don't believe in auras."

Zuko then quickly stood up to the girl and said, "That's because you don't believe in anything," he paused. As he was about to continue Azula imputed her opinion. "So that's why you're so afraid to express yourself, so afraid to care about anything." That's when Mai snapped. She stood up quickly and yelled at the Princess, "You want me to express myself? Leave me alone!"

Zuko eyes went wide as he smiled and said, "I like it when you express yourself." He tried to hold her hand but she quickly moved away. It seemed that her anger was still there as she said, "Don't touch me. I still haven't forgiven you for what you did. It doesn't explain why you're so angry." Zuko's face then returned back to its scowl as anger covered his voice. "My life hasn't been that easy either Mai. I had to go through hard times for three years."

Mai didn't say anything except turn her back on Zuko. Then Ty-Lee said the unthinkable, "Guys, we need to stop this. All this negative energy is bad for skin. You'll totally break out." She seemed to notice her mistake as she covered her mouth with her hands. "Bad skin," Zuko started angrily. "Normal teenagers worry about bad skin. I don't have that luxury. My father decided to teach me a permanent lesson, on my face!

For years now, I've been trying to gain my father's approval and love. Heck, I'm back home and my dad talks to me; he thinks I'm a hero. But now I'm angrier than ever and I don't know why." Azula then said, "There's only one thing you need answered then, who are you angry at Zuko? Is it me?" Each of the other three girls suggested names but each time Zuko replied with a, "No." Then in the end his anger got to him as he sent to big flames to the already high fire. Angrily he said, "I'm angry at myself!" The fire went up 10 ft. in the air, the heat intense. Zuko and I were the only ones who didn't look away. When it died down, all that was left of the fire was glowing embers.

Azula regained her composure quickly as she asked, "Why?" When Azula asked, Zuko turned away and slumped his shoulders. His voice defeated, "I don't know if I know the difference between right or wrong anymore." I watched as Mai stood up and said to Zuko in a caring voice, "I know one thing I care about, I care about you." And she kissed him.

Azula clapped her hands and yawned. She said, "Amazing performances everyone. Good job." Mai and Zuko broke apart but still held on to each other. Zuko then said, "I'm sure you don't know what we're talking about Azula. You and Jang are just so perfect in every little way." I snorted when I heard him say this. Everyone looked at me when I gave a dry laugh. I said to Zuko as I was stood up, "You don't know what you're talking about. Don't start saying things that aren't true." Ty-Lee scoffed at me and muttered, "Yeah right. I'll believe that when hog-monkeys fly."

I turned to her and said angrily, "My life is far from perfect! You don't have any idea what lengths my father made me go through to make me the way I am. He made me start my training when I first learned how to walk! All of you here had time to grow and play, training wasn't the first you did in the morning till late at night. You didn't have to go through the emotional and physical pain that it caused me. He would yell at me for speaking to him, or if I just asked him for a small break. Every time that I cried from the hurt he would tell me to push on," I turned to Zuko. "Your father banished you at 13 and I would have opened my arms to an opportunity like that. I didn't want a soldier's life; it was something I was forced to do. My name and perfection don't join together. I couldn't be farther away from it. Make sure you know what you're talking about before you say it."'

In my anger I sent a huge bolt of lightning out to the ocean. I let out a sigh of anger before pulling the lightning back into me. When it came back I was covered with the blue electric sparks but they didn't harm me. Slowly, the energy in my body calmed down; the blue sparks around me disappearing. I breathed out the smoke, and watched it fly away. From behind me I heard Azula sigh.

I turned to her, my anger uncontrollable. "You know what Azula not all of us can be as great and as perfect as you. So I have one suggestion, leave…. me….alone. When I get angry, the possibilities are endless to what extent I will go to get rid of the cause of my anger."

Azula just smirked and said, "I'm sure that's true Jang, but I _know_ that I'm not the cause of it," I growled but she ignored me, "All of you are right, I am perfect. But there was one little flaw in my childhood; it was pretty obvious that my mom liked Zuko best but I didn't really care. My own mother thought I was a monster." She stared at the dying embers, a small amount of hurt shown in her eyes. In that instant my anger for Azula disappeared. I knew would still end up making me mad but I could see that even Azula is cruel and controlling, she's still human being even if it's hard to see. She continued, "She was right of course but it still hurt."

We all looked at one another and finally understood a few things about each other. Ty-Lee then found a smooth rock by her hand. She picked it up, stroked it and said, "What Lo and Li said did come true. I feel all smooth inside. This is one of the best vacations that I've ever had." Azula smiled and said, "You know what would make this even better?" She pointed to Chan's house, and in our minds we knew what she was talking about. For once we agreed.

Azula knocked on Chan's door while the rest of us leaned on the wooden rail, our arms crossed, and our faces blank. Chan opened the door and looked at us with disgust. He asked Azula what we were doing there. Azula grinned, and said, "We have bad news Chan." Zuko turned his face to the boy and growled, "Party's over." We went inside, pushing past him. Zuko smashed a table with one kick while Mai was cutting up the silk curtains with her stilettos. Ty-Lee ran up one of the wall beams and hung on one of the many chandeliers, swinging from one to other. The sudden change in weight caused the chandeliers to fall. I sent fireballs in the direction of tapestries and paintings and for once I enjoyed watching things burn. Chan watched everything around him in horror, all the party guests even Ruon-Jian left Chan by himself. When we done wrecking his home he started crying badly; we all shook our heads in disgust. We walked to front of the house, right underneath the doorframe. I don't know what happened but we just stood there wrapping our arms around each other's shoulders and waists, before I knew it we were all smiling. I was standing next to Azula my left arm around her shoulder, Ty-Lee's right arm draped over mine. Ty-Lee's other arm was wrapped around Mai's shoulder. Mai crossed her arms and looked at a smiling Zuko who wrapped his right arm around her waist. Azula and Mai both had small yet genuine smiles on their faces. Zuko and I were both content and happy. Ty-Lee, she had the biggest smile of us all.


	10. Chapter 10

After a long while of just standing underneath the doorway, we finally made our way back to Lo and Li's house. Mai and Zuko step out to the balcony, Azula talking to the twins about a Firebending move. Lo and Li were both surprised by the Princess's good mood but they weren't complaining. Ty-Lee went over to the bedroom and laid down on the pink bed looking up into the ceiling. I followed her inside the room only to put my robe on top of my chest of clothes. Wordlessly, I walked out of the room and the house to sit on the beach.

The full moon was high in the sky and it was just so peaceful to watch it. My worries washed away like the waves washing on the beach. I knew that if I had the chance I would want to spend forever underneath the glow of a full moon. I know being a Firebender and all that we harness our power from the sun and that the moon slightly lessens that power but I knew that the sun couldn't compare to the utter beauty of the moon. After a few hours of staring at the moon, I heard a soft crunching sound from someone walking on the sand. I tensed myself ready to attack when I found myself suddenly relaxing at this person's touch. I looked to the side and I saw that Ty-Lee was sitting right next to me her hand on my shoulder. Her flawless face shone in the moonlight. I was once again captivated by the girl 3 years younger and 8 inches shorter.

She asked, "Everyone else is already asleep Jang, you should too. Come on."

I shook my head slowly and then I whispered, my voice soft, "I want to a-a-apologize to you about what I said this morning. It was uncalled for and cruel. I'm sorry I guess that Azula's orders and my jealousy affected my line of thinking. Please I beg for your forgiveness. The three of you are the only people I know that aren't like my father. I don't want to lose one of the few friends that I have."

Ty-Lee grinned and said in the same soft tone, "Don't worry Jang, I forgive you. I guess I wasn't really mad at you I just was surprised that you said something like that. And who were you jealous of? Those guys? Well don't be," she looked down, a faint pink blush appearing on her cheeks. "I think I really like someone else, though. I'm sorry for flirting to those guys. Mai was right for the reason for me flirting with all those boys, I guess that I was really wanted attention when I was younger and I _am_ trying to make up for it now."

I looked at her in surprise when she told me that she liked someone else; my eyes betraying the question that I wanted answered. Her blush got deeper as she took a deep breath and laid her head on my shoulder. I went rigid and looked at her in shock. Ty-Lee was having the same feelings for me as I do for her? I couldn't believe it; I mean I didn't deserve it. Softly I whispered hesitantly, "Me?" Ty-Lee didn't respond except for lacing her fingers with mine. My lips curved up into a small smile as I laid my head on top of hers, that moment was probably the best in my life.

The next morning and the other following mornings for the next 5 days were uneventful. The day after the party, Chan's father came back to Ember Island. The five of us lounged on the beach, a comfortable silence around us. Azula was sitting on her straw mat staring at the sparkling water. Mai and Zuko were sitting underneath an umbrella leaning against each other, their hands intertwined. Ty-Lee and I sat on a blanket, not as close as Mai and Zuko but close enough for our fingertips to touch. The peace however, was soon disturbed by Chan, behind him a tall muscular man with long, gray streaked black hair tied into a top knot. His face had a look of seriousness about it, and his eyes were in a cold glare. When I looked at him, his face seemed very familiar but I couldn't put a finger to where I had seen him.

Chan pointed at us and said, "That's them father. They are the ones who destroyed our house. I had this small get together with my friends and they showed up to crash it. They should all go to prison for what they did." The five of us looked at one another and slowly stood up to face the general. When he saw my face, his eyes widened in fear and shock; when his gaze moved form mine to Azula and Zuko' face, it widened even more. He went to his knees and bowed, his head bent as he stammered, "Please forgive me and my son. He did not tell me that he didn't invite the Princess, the Prince, and the Supreme Commander's son to the get together." He turned to Chan angrily, "Bow you insignificant excuse of a son, don't you know who these people are? This is the Royal Family and their friends! How dare you disrespect them like that? You have brought a great dishonor among our family."

Chan's face paled as he hastily apologized and bowed low before us. He looked at Azula nervously. Azula said in a cool yet menacing tone, "We accept your apology, but our actions were out of just. Your son had a party and invited everyone, including us. We had a good time until your son's friend insulted my brother, and your son went along with it. Then he kicked my brother out of your home. We just gave him the punishment that he deserves. Is there anything wrong about what we did?"

Her threat was not said directly but everyone could sense it. The general's forehead was covered with beaded sweat, it didn't help that Azula had a ball of blue fire sitting on her hand. The general eyed the fireball nervously as he whimpered, "No of course not Princess. You have done nothing wrong with us. I agree, my son did deserve that punishment and he shall get more when we get back to our home. I beg you Princess, please do not punish him anymore, he has learned his lesson."

The Princess rolled her eyes and sighed, "Very well, but if we see him and his other friend again during our duration here in Ember Island he shall get his punishment."

The general bowed to the Princess and the Prince. The others left the spot to head back to Lo and Li's house since the noon sun was high in the air providing no shade to lie in. The general turned to me and said, "Master Jang, I know I am in no position to ask this but could you inform your father that I have been doing well in my duties and am ready for a promotion if he would like for me to move up to Admiral. It would be an honor to be an Admiral of the Fire Lord's royal army."

I looked at the general with plain disgust written all over my face. I said, "Yes... Yes you are right," the general's face lit up; I smiled cruelly. "You are right; you are in no position to ask me to relay a message to my father from you. If my father wishes to give you a promotion then he shall give you a promotion if he sees that you are worthy enough to receive that promotion. What I am seeing here is that you believe that I am some child that you can manipulate. It's not like that. Even though I am not in a high military position I still have power over you. I suggest that you keep your distance away from me. There is still a reason why I am feared among the guards and other military officers. Keep that in mind."


	11. Chapter 11

As soon as I finished speaking to the general, I realized where I had seen him from. He was in the meetings that my father held to talk about strategy in the war. As far as I could remember, my father always disagreed with the general's ideas and did not like him very much. I felt the general's angry glare piercing my back but I did not care. He was a coward; if he wanted to say something to me then he should address me to my face. Like his son, the man had no honor what so ever.

The following days after that encounter were dull and we were already begging to go back to the Capital. The day came soon enough. I was lounging on one of Lo and Li's couches when Ty-Lee came bursting through the front door and said, "The boat's docked on the loading bay. I think this means we can go back home. I am so glad to get away from here; I think I've had enough of the beach for now. I am so happy." She rushed up and hugged me. The next thing I knew I was lifting her up to a hug. I didn't even care that the boat was there to take us back to the Homeland; all I cared about was the girl I had in my arms.

The following day, I left the Capital to go to a look out station by the base of a crater hole. It was one of the jobs that my father has assigned to me. I was to go to different look out bases through out the Fire Nation and find out what was going on. These assignments came once every 6 months so I knew it was coming. It was about a day's journey to the crater and I took one of my father's Komodo Rhino's and set out for the base. When I made it there I went up to the little patrol shack and banged on the small wooden door. The two patrols immediately came out and bowed. One was fat and had a large nose while the other was skinnier and had to large front teeth coming out of his mouth. I could see why they were assigned patrol duty.

Before I could ask for their records, the fat one asked me, "Master Jang, are we ready for the war against the Avatar? Is that why you have come, to ask for our help in the fight?"

I looked at him, my face hard, "What are you talking about? The Avatar is dead. He had fallen in Ba Sing Se. Are you trying to joke around with important such as this?"

The skinny one replied hurriedly, "No, no of course not sir. We sent a messenger hawk to the Fire Lord. We saw the Avatar here a mere 2 weeks ago, we swear it. It was a black ribbon message; the mail offices would have known it was really important. We sent another hawk later that night after we saw a man with a metal arm and metal boots attacking the place where the Avatar was. The both of us heard the explosion and heard the groan of the flying bison as it flew away. That was also a black ribbon message. If needed be we can send another one, so that the Fire Lord will know."

My face did not betray the surprise that I felt when I heard that the Avatar was still alive. I told them, "No, there is no need to send another message to the Fire Lord; I shall relay myself to make sure that it will be known. You shall be rewarded by your hard work and dedication to this nation."

I walked back to my Komodo Rhino and wondered the whole entire time about what else Zuko has been hiding. I promised myself that those questions will be answered when I get back home.

When I arrived I went to the Palace and found out from the guards that the Princess and her two friends were away for the day and that the Prince was the only one left. I made my way through the Palace and said to the first servant that I met, "Go and find me Prince Zuko, tell him to go to the Tea Room, but do not tell him that it was I who summoned him. Do you understand? If he finds out there will severe consequences. Maybe you can say that Azula's back and wants to talk to him, I do not know nor do I care but you had better keep my name out."

The servant nodded fearfully, and scurried away to find the Prince. I made it to the Tea Room and leaned on the wall, waiting for the Prince. A few minutes later the Prince came bursting through the wooden double doors and said angrily, "What do you want Azula?"

I stood up straight and said in an expressionless tone, "Azula's not here Zuko, it's just me," his eyes narrowed when he saw me. "It seems that what you did in Ba Sing Se has really made the rest of the world give up hope in defeating the Fire Nation. I mean with the Avatar dead, the world has no living hope to defeat us. Well, that is if the Avatar is really dead. See Zuko, I went to one of the patrol bases by the crater hole just 45 miles south of here and seems that the patrols have seen the Avatar. They have sworn that it was him, tattoos and all and they also said that they saw a man with a metal arm and metal boots attacking the Avatar's camp. They said that this assassin also caused an explosion of high magnitude. They have also said that they heard the groan of the bison, and watched as it flew away. And for some reason their black ribbon messages have not made it to your father. So I came here today to ask you, is the Avatar dead?"

Zuko turned away and didn't reply. I smirked before I said, "Oh and that's not the last of it. A man with a metal arm and two metal boots and sent to kill the Avatar, well, there's only one person that can cause an explosion that big with the same description as the assassin, Ka-Lim the Third Eye. Have you heard of him? Well the people who've seen him say that he has the ability to Firebend using only his mind. A very powerful bender to say the least. I find it at such a big coincidence that he would know the Avatar was alive and that he chose now to pursue him don't you think," I looked at Zuko, his face still turned away. "Still not talking? Well then if the Fire Lord or Azula were to find out about this, it would bring your glory back to shame. I know I may have no evidence but you and I both know that Azula has some suspicions, and she can easily persuade your own father that you are a traitor. So I will ask again, is the Avatar alive?"

Zuko snarled at me, "Why do you care Jang? Do you want to join his little group of friends? If you want the answer, then yes he's alive! But if you tell Azula about me, I won't go down alone. You are coming down with me. I know about you and Ty-Lee. Do you think Azula would let that happen?! She likes you and what Azula wants, Azula can get! She won't like to know about you two, so she'll think of something to punish you. So I suggest you don't say anything about me and I won't say anything about you." He walked out the room, his fists clenched. He and I did not talk again for a long time.

It wasn't till a two weeks later that things started to change. There was a war meeting that all the major military leaders went to, along with the Fire Lord, his son and daughter, and me. We were all dressed up in our armor, sitting on the sides of a gigantic map of the Earth Kingdom. We were all waiting for the Prince to show up; it seemed that he did not know that he was invited. Ozai had just sent a servant to get him a few minutes after everyone else showed up. The Fire Lord would not start the meeting without his son. Azula sat to the right of the Fire Lord looking at me and smirking. I nodded my head slightly and turned away. A few more minutes later, Zuko entered the room wearing his armor his hair in a top knot. He ignored the looks from the other military leaders and sat to the left of his father. I saw Ozai give Zuko a small smile and said, "Welcome Prince Zuko, we waited for you. Sit. This meeting has started," he turned to one of the generals. "General Shino, begin."

General Shino stood up and bowed to the Fire Lord and said, "The Earth Kingdom is still under our control but Earth Kingdom resistance forces attack our soldiers and supplies everyday causing injuries and shortages of the supplies that we need. Since the Day of Black Sun is tomorrow, we need all the help we can get from our weapon storage to keep the people under control."

"That is a problem. Prince Zuko, you have been among the Earth Kingdom commoners how do we stop them," asked the Fire Lord.

Zuko looked down, his face deep in though and he responded, "The Earth Kingdom people are proud and strong. They can endure anything as long as they have hope. We―" Azula interrupted him, "I think we should take their precious hope and burn it to the ground along with their crops and fields. Then they shall see who the real leaders are."

Zuko looked ready to oppose but Ozai smiled evilly and got off his throne and walked down the stairs to the center of the map while saying, "Yes, yes you're right Azula. When Sozin's Comet arrives in a month's time, we shall burn the hopes of the Earth Kingdom and out of the ashes a new nation will be reborn for the Fire Nation. Then I shall be the supreme leader of the world. I shall rule it all!"

I felt my entire body freeze. My face showed my surprise. Ozai was taking it too far. He already had an occupation in the Earth Kingdom and imprisoned most of the soldiers and now he wanted to burn the entire Earth Kingdom to a mere oblivion, I couldn't picture it in my mind. I wanted to do something but I didn't know what I was going to do.

The Fire Lord looked at my face and saw my surprise. Ozai looked at me and sneered, "Is there anything you would like to add Jang?" I hissed and answered through clenched teeth, "None at all Fire Lord. Please continue."

The Fire Lord looked at me victoriously like he had already won the entire world. He continued, "That is all for today, everyone may leave except for you, Commander Lei Won."

I stood up and was one of the first people to leave the room. I passed by Mai who was waiting by a huge marble column for Zuko. I walked quickly to the room that the Fire Lord has allowed me to stay in. I slowly took off my armor, and laid them on my bed; I stared at it with disgust. I sat on the edge of the bed, my anger uncontrollable. I took deep breaths to help myself calm down but none of it worked. I was so angry that I did not notice the door open and silently close. I also did not notice that Ty-Lee had gone behind me and wrapped her arms around my neck. Almost immediately I calmed down.

I sighed and shook my head when she asked me what was wrong. Ty-Lee released her arms from my neck and went over to face me. I looked away and muttered, "Ty-Lee, I'm sorry but I just don't feel like talking today. And I have some things to get done today. Please."

Ty-Lee's face lost a bit of its happiness and showed some hurt but she complied. I felt so guilty and sorry but I had to figure some things out. I undid my top knot and walked out of the room and headed to Zuko's room. I burst in the door without knocking and I saw him writing something on a piece of paper. When he heard the door open, the Prince jumped, nearly causing the ink bottle to tip. Before he could say anything I closed the door to prevent anyone from listening. He said in frustration, "What are you doing here? I need to do something, and you're stopping me from doing it. The Invasion that the Earth King told us about is tomorrow and there's only a limited time left. So leave!"


	12. Chapter 12

"The Invasion during the Day of Black Sun? That is very resourceful for the Avatar and his friends to use our weakness as their advantage, but that is not what I came here to talk about. What your father said in the war meeting today was out of hand. I saw you want to object from your sister's ideas but I am sure you remembered the last time that you did." I saw Zuko look away after I said that. "I came here to say that I agree with you. I want this war to end. One hundred years is too long and the people of this world deserve peace. When the Avatar comes tomorrow I'm joining his side, and I'll fight for them. I have a strong belief that you'll be doing the same too. What is your plan?"

Zuko looked at me in disbelief. After a while, "What are you talking about? If my father heard about this he would send you to prison for treason and for being a traitor to your nation."

I laughed sarcastically. "It's not like you're not in the same boat as I am Zuko. You know as well as I that you do not share the same views with your father and sister. Unlike them you care. Like I said, I want to play my part in ending this war and so do you. Tell me what you are going to do."

Zuko looked like he was about to refuse but then nodded. "When my sister was disguised as a Kyoshi Warrior in Ba Sing Se, the Earth King told her that an Invasion would be launched here during the Day of Black Sun. During the eclipse, when our bending will be neutralized from the lack of energy from the sun. My father will not be at the Palace but instead in a secret room underneath the Palace in a series of tunnels. I will go down and confront my father and tell him the things that need to be said before I set out and join the Avatar. I doubt that their entire army will succeed since Azula has been planning for this since Day 1. The Avatar and his friends will probably make it out though on the flying bison. When they do, I'll take one of the War Balloons and follow them to wherever they are going. What about you?"

I pondered that for a minute before responding, "I'll stay here and pretend to fight during the Invasion. I will stay on the surface try to get as little damage as possible on the Invasion army and when the eclipse starts I shall fall back. I'll leave too and join you wherever you all land. I have an excuse though. Tomorrow I shall be near the extra War Balloons and when you come, we shall start a pretend fight and for some strange reason you win, and you leave off. After when Azula asks I shall say that we were fighting but for some reason you won and that you ran off to go somewhere. My excuse will be to seek you out because my pride won't let it go and she'll more than likely grant it. I think I know where the Avatar will be headed; it needs to be someplace familiar. One of the Air Temples, it would be more comfortable for the Avatar that way. It can't be the Southern one since that's where his race has been slaughtered there and it would bring back horrible memories. The Eastern Air Temple would be too far away and so will the Northern one. The highly probable place would be at the Western Air Temple, it's closest to the Fire Nation and he has no emotional ties with it."

Zuko nodded his head and said in a hushed voice, "What are you going to tell Ty-Lee when you leave? I'm already writing Mai this letter to tell her how sorry I am and that I don't want her to get in trouble for being affiliated with a traitor. I hope Mai understands but Ty-Lee… You know Jang, she can get sensitive and hurts very easily, despite her forgiving nature."

I nodded and walked back out the room, his words echoing inside my head. It also did not help when Ty-Lee, back in her usual self, walked passed me and waved. I gave her a slight smile but my eyes remained troubled.

The next day it was a busy place in the Palace. Everyone in the Palace was getting ready for the Invasion. Soldiers stood ready at the docks and in the outer city. I was sitting in my room with a small painting of my mother in front of me. I said to it, "I know I've made a lot of mistakes in my life but I promise that I will make up for it now. I will change this world and for the better." I stood up and put on my robe and pants. I made sure that all my things were ready for travel. My box of extra blades and stilettos, an extra robe and some provisions inside a small leather bag, my black granite and gold hilted sword lying next to it. Next to all my stuff was a letter to Ty-Lee, a letter that I was planning to give her. I held it up in my hand and burned it. She deserved to hear it from me and not from a piece of parchment.

I stood outside the Palace gates, leaning on the stone wall, my eyes closed. It did not take long for the Invasion to finally arrive. I opened my eyes and looked out to the bay. Earth Kingdom and Water Nation soldiers were coming out of gigantic metal whale looking things. I heard a loud groan and looked up to see the Avatar's bison coming in the air with a Waterbender on top, destroying the harpoon guns on the metal towers. I heard a loud grinding sound and saw long, wide metal worm-like tanks shooting rocks from the Earth Kingdom sign in the front.

I nodded my head in awe. The tanks were highly resistant to the attacks of the soldiers. In a matter of moments the soldiers attacking the tanks were defeated. I smirked and walked slowly back to the Palace while guards and soldiers were rushing past me. I knew it wouldn't take long for the Invasion army to reach the Inner City, and to the Palace. All I had to do now was wait.

When I heard the surprise exclamations of the soldiers fighting I knew that the sun was finally blocked by the eclipse and by the sounds of it, the Invasion was already in the Inner City. I looked up to the sky and saw that the sun was covered by a huge shadow. I tried to conjure a small flame on my hand but the fire wouldn't come. I knew that Zuko was already at his father's secret hiding place in the series of tunnels saying things that needed to be said.

I saw a figure coming through the sky on a glider. I immediately knew that, that was the Avatar. He was coming closer and closer, his figure getting bigger by the second. Within moments the Avatar was in the courtyard; soldiers surrounding him. I watched in the shadows of the side of the Palace. He blew away the soldiers with a powerful gust of wind and slowly walked to the grand Palace doors. When I saw him, he was merely a child at the age of 13. I stood frozen in surprise at how someone so young could carry the burden of the world on their shoulders in so little time. I saw him take a deep breath and look to his right and left. I saw his eyes widen as he saw me, but before he could look closer I had already left.

I headed to the Air Ship yard made sure that the gate was open so that Zuko would have easy access to the ships when he needed a fast escape. I saw some guards passing by me but they paid no attention to me. I walked back to the Palace but before I could go reach the steps the Avatar burst out, his face enveloped in anger and disappointment. When he walked out, it was only me and him standing in the courtyard. We stared at each other for a moment my eyes and face revealing nothing of my inner emotions. Before I could tell him what I was proposing to do, he sent a huge wave of air at me. I felt my feet sliding on the stone ground, my muscles tightening as I tried to stay in place but he sent another strong gust of air at me and it was enough to blow me all the way to the gate wall. My back collided with the thick stone wall with a loud thud and pain erupted from the impact. I growled in pain but managed to stay on my feet.

I looked up and saw that the Avatar was already gliding away on his glider back to the Outer City. I looked at the sun and saw that the eclipse was already passing. I rushed the entrance of the secret tunnel and saw that Zuko was standing there, his two Dao blades in his hands. His face solemn as he nodded and left to go to the Air Ships. I watched him go as I put some burn holes in my robe and pants; I also put some cuts on my arms and face to make it seem like it was a real fight.

Several minutes later, I saw the Avatar's bison leave the Outer City with 6 silhouettes sitting on the saddle. I saw Air Ships trying to follow but they could not catch up with the bison. I ran to the Outer City, the wind whipping at my face. When I arrived, the rest of the Invasion army were being crowded into a large circle, surrounded by the guards and soldiers... None of the warriors put up a fight. One man stood in the front of the group. It was clear to see that he was the leader of the invasion. His face was defiant and proud; his eyes were filled with cold fury. Although he had a wound on his side he stood straighter than the others.

The soldiers realized this fact too for he was the first they put into chains and led away. The other Invasion warriors were next to follow, almost all of them allowed themselves to be taken away; their faces stayed proud. I smirked to myself, they knew that the Avatar was coming back for them, and then it would be time to fight once more. They were saving their strengths for they would need it if they were to survive the prisons of the Fire Nation.

Once all the prisoners of war were led away to the prisons, the Princess appeared from behind a group of soldiers with Ty-Lee and Mai following behind her. Mai's face was expressionless as usual but there was something in her eyes that betrayed her emotions. Hurt and fury. I suspected that she read the note that Zuko had left in her room. Ty-Lee's face was curious as she watched the Fire Nation soldiers taking away the warriors but when she saw me her face turned to joy then to concern. Her look made Azula look over at me, her face unresponsive but her eyes betrayed her curiosity at my injuries and look.

They walked up to me; Azula said in a whisper, "Say nothing until we are at the Palace. What you have to say is for our ears alone and no one else's." She started to walk to the Palace with her two friends following behind her. Ty-Lee kept looking back at me with concern and worry filling her eyes and face. I gave her a small smile and nodded. As I walked back to the Palace, my mind was filled with the events of the day.

When I finally reached the Palace, I felt my face start stinging. My sweat was mixing with my cuts and caused it to hurt. I felt it slowly drip down my face and when I saw it I saw the blood and sweat mixture. I assessed the damage on me before going into the Palace to make sure that Azula did not see me in pain. I felt my ribs and noticed that five of them were cracked from the impact on the wall, and the cuts that I had to give myself were bleeding but it was nothing I couldn't handle.

I went to the throne room and saw that Azula and the others were there. The Fire Lord was in the conference room it seemed to make the preparations on the attack of the Earth Kingdom. Azula and the others were leaning against the granite pillar. Azula said in a blank tone. "It seems that Zuko has now fully betrayed the Fire Nation. He took one of the War Ships and followed the Avatar and his gang to wherever they are going. I only have one question to ask though, what were you doing throughout the Invasion? I had to deal with the Avatar and two of his friends underground while Ty-Lee and Mai were out helping the soldiers fight. They tell me that they haven't seen you amongst the other fighters. What were you doing?"

I looked at Azula in the eyes, my expression passive. I replied, "I was in the Palace courtyard getting ready to defend it if need be. I was about to go to the Bay but I saw the Avatar on his glider coming to the Palace. I stayed so that I would have the pleasure of getting rid of him myself. He went into the Palace but before I could go in after him he came out with angry look on his face. We faced one another and before I could send some daggers in his direction he hit me with a gust of wind and that threw me into the stone wall. The collision cracked some of my ribs.

"After that he left, and I was about to go until I saw Zuko coming out from the side of the Palace. I went over to him and asked him what he was doing. Being the coward that he is, he attacked me without warning and without establishing a formal fight. The eclipse had already passed and he sent blazing fire blast at me, along with getting some swipes of his Dao blade, as you can see. For some reason he…He won." I looked down to appear ashamed. At the corner of my eye I saw Azula smirk coldly. I slowly looked up and said, "I don't know how he won but he did, and he left and went to the Air Ship yard. I tried to follow after him but my ribs were still hurting. Azula let me go after him and bring him back for persecution. I don't like losing and if I do lose, which is rare, I do whatever it takes to win against that person. Permit me to capture the Prince. I owe him a debt."

Azula smiled and said, "Very well Jang. I'll let you go after Zuko, and bring him back to me. We're going to the Boiling Rock in 2 weeks to transport some prisoners and I have a feeling that the Avatar would be going there too. It seems that the leader of the Invasion has a son and his son is the Water Tribe boy. If you can't find Zuko in 2 weeks send a messenger hawk to us. It would be best for you to prepare now, take an eel hound with you, it would be faster. When you have finished with it then let it go and it shall find it's way back to the Fire Nation. The three of us will be waiting for you to return. I'll also go tell father of your plan, I'm sure your father would also like to know."


	13. Chapter 13

Azula and Mai walked past me and through the large doors. I gritted my teeth and took a deep breath. Ty-Lee walked up to me and she had tears in her eyes. I looked at her in concern. I hated it when she cried.

I asked her what was wrong and she just went up and hugged me. I held her close and memorized the sweet scent of the jasmine from her hair, the warmth of her body when I held her close, and the way her body fit with mine. She looked up at me and her eyes said everything she wanted to say. Before I could respond she kissed me. My mind short circuited after that. Everything I did in response to her kiss was out of pure instinct. I never wanted to let go from the embrace. She wrapped her arms around my neck while I wrapped mine around her waist trying to pull her as close as possible. I kissed back, the need for her burning inside me. After a couple of minutes, the need for air was burning in our chests and we broke apart.

We were both breathing heavily; we leaned our foreheads against one another's and just looked at each other. The pain of leaving her was evident in my eyes. I whispered softly, "I'm sorry but this is something that I need to do and it could change this world for the better. I'll make sure that I see in the Boiling Rock, I promise. And I... I... I lo-" I saw Ty-Lee's face light up and slightly fall when I said; "I'll miss you." I don't know why but I couldn't bring myself to tell her how I felt just yet; the weight of what I was going to do was heavy on my mind. I quickly pulled myself away from her grip so that it would be easier for the both of us to leave. I turned back once as I was leaving and nodded my head before I walked out the door.

I went to my room and put on a new robe and grabbed all my stuff. I took one more last look at the room and left. I went to the courtyard where I saw Azula standing there alone; an eel hound next to her. I walked up to her and faced her, waiting for her to say something. Azula then said, "Remember what I said Jang, we're going to be at the Boiling Rock in 2 weeks. I've already told your father and my father about your plan and they agree that you should bring back Zuko so that he can face his punishment. My father also wanted me to tell you that you have one month's time to bring Zuko back, if you don't capture him by then you have to come back to the homeland and suffer the humiliation of not fulfilling your promise."

I fought back the urge to retort and just nodded my head. I went on the eel hound and headed out.

The eel hound ran faster than anything than else I have ridden before. It took a maximum of 30 minutes for me to get to the outskirts of the city. An hour later we were already swimming in the ocean. I led the eel hound into low mists so that we won't be seen by any of the Fire Nation ships. Five hours later we had already passed the crater where the Boiling Rock was located. In the distance I saw the Island where the Western Air Temple would be located. Dusk had arrived when I finally made it to the island. I went into the forest and set up camp.

I woke at dawn and set out on foot to find the Western Air Temple. I tied the eel hound's bridle to a thick, strong tree to prevent it from escaping. I left a big pile of apples that I found in nearby trees and knew that the eel hound would be fine on it's own. He could eat the frogs and bugs that came out in the night and he could also eat the tree leaves and grass. I made sure that it would be fine for two weeks till I came back and used him to get to the Boiling Rock. I went through the forest, my hand on the hilt of my sword ready to attack if need be. For hours I wandered around the island until I saw the Air Temple.

The temple was truly a sight to see. The Airbenders wanted to hide themselves from any threat so they built their temple on the side of a cliff. Their buildings looked like upside-down pagodas. I stared at it with awe. I scanned the temple to see if I could find the Avatar and his gang.

A few moments later I finally spotted some figures on one of the buildings farther to the left. A few minutes later I saw a big explosion hit the pagoda next to the one with the figures on it. I ran to the left and finally saw what was attacking the figures. It was Ka-Lim. I was about to attack when I saw Zuko trying to stop him. It was a futile attempt. Ka-Lim returned to attacking the group but after that distraction from Zuko a boomerang came flying and hit Ka-Lim right on his third eye tattoo.

Ka-Lim fell back but was soon standing up again, rubbing his forehead. He took a deep breath and tried to send out another blast of fire but this time it seemed to backfire. Instead of going to the pagoda, it blew back on him causing the whole pagoda he was standing on to fall. I watched silently as I saw his glittering arm falling along with the other pieces of rock. I turned away and went to the other side of the cliff so that I could climb down to the temples.

When I finally made it down to the temple, I saw the Avatar and his friends crowding around the Fire Nation Prince. I stood behind them for a while, watching silently. I took one step to the side and all of the sudden a small girl of about 12 years old with Earth Kingdom clothes pointed at me and yelled, "We're not alone! There's someone behind us!"

Before the other could try and attack me, the little girl used Earthbending and sent a huge boulder my way. It was coming at me at an incredibly fast speed. Before it hit my face I held out my hand and grabbed the boulder with my hand. I felt my fingers digging inside the rock as I held it.

I breathed heavily as I looked at the surprise written on the others faces. The Earth Kingdom girl then said, "What's going on? I didn't feel the vibrations as he fell. Did he fall off the cliff?" The others were still so dumbfounded at my actions that they did not answer the blind girl. A beautiful girl of about 14 dressed in a Water Tribe dress opened her the water skin that hung by her side and let the water engulf the entire length of her arm. She asked in a threatening tone, "Who and what are you? You're dressed in Fire Nation clothes but you can Earthbend. Did Azula send you?"

I dropped the boulder and said in an expressionless tone, "I am as Fire Nation as Zuko is. And yes, Azula did send me here."

When they heard me say I saw them tense up. Zuko was still looking at me quizzically; it seemed he still hasn't gotten over the fact that I could Earthbend. I smiled as the Water Tribe girl and a boy also dressed in Water Tribe clothing were already moving closer to me. The Avatar on the other hand just stood there with the same look as Zuko. The Water Tribe girl then sent sharp icicles in my direction but before they hit me, the Avatar yelled, "Wait!"

The Water Tribe girl turned to face the young Avatar; the icicles turned back into the water and fell harmlessly at my feet. The Avatar then continued while he stared at me with wondering eyes. I stared back at the boy calmly, my mouth turned up into a smirk. He said, "I saw him in the Palace courtyard. I was just coming out from the Palace and he was there, just me and him. I was surprised to see someone there; I had thought that everyone had went out into the Bay." He then pointed at me. "You had more than enough time to attack me but you didn't. You just stood there looking as if you wanted to say something."

The others except for Zuko stared at me incredulously. I shrugged my shoulders and said, "That may be but I had my reasons for not attacking you. Whether or not Azula told me to capture the Avatar is my business, not anyone else's." I gave them a smug grin as they silently fumed. The Water Tribe boy then said angrily, "You know we can always drive you away. You don't know the extent of our abilities and we can always make you go crying back to Azula."

My grin got wider as the words came out of his mouth, "I may not know the extent of your abilities but you don't know the extent mine as well. As you can see I am from the Fire Nation, I am a bender," I demonstrated with creating a fire ball in my hand. I played around with the fire while I said, "You can obviously see that I am a Firebender. You can also ask Zuko about my heritage, they were all Fire Nation. My father is the Supreme Commander of the Fire Lord's army, one of the Fire Lord's most trusted military leaders. But as you have also seen, I just demonstrated the ability to Earthbend. I'm also sure that you have seen Azula manipulate lightning, I know you have." I pointed to the Water Tribe girl. I saw her turn away her eyes and face enraged. "From what Azula tells me, you have seen it's manipulation. I can do that plus more, much, much more. So be wary of who you try to threaten. I am not an idle threat."

They were all silent until the Avatar said, "What are you doing here? All we're trying to do is change the world for the better. Please, don't try to stop us. It's hard enough as it is. We all lost and gave up a lot of things in our lives because of this war. Let me end it."

I dropped my grin and for some reason my face softened as I muttered, "You're not the only one who lost things in this war. Believe it or not, I want this war over with and done. I left someone I cared about just so I could help change this world. I make a proposition like Zuko's only ever so slightly different.

"Let me play my part in ending this war. I'll stay in one of the other pagodas till the time is ready. I won't interfere with anything. You can take me as a prisoner if you want, but all I want is to end this war. I lost my mother because of it. And you can ask the Earth Kingdom girl whether I'm lying or not, my vibrations will say it all."

The other three looked at the blind Earthbender. Slowly she said, "He's telling the truth. Every vibration I hear from him is sincere and true."

The Avatar was the first to nod his head in acceptance and he turned away. The Water Tribe siblings or they seemed to be, since the looked so alike, nodded their heads reluctantly before they turned away too. The blind girl on the other hand walked up to and said, "I don't know why, but I trust you. Do anything wrong though, I won't hesitate to suck you in the ground... Just kidding. If you need any advice on Earthbending just ask. There's a reason why I'm an Earthbending master."

I mumbled my thanks as she walked away. Zuko then came up to me and asked, "Why didn't you just tell them the truth about why you wanted to join their group in the first place? It would have been so much easier on you."

"I have my own reasons. Oh and by the way, Mai looked upset when I left. She was as silent and as brooding as ever. The eyes tell all in a person and what showed in Mai's was hurt and rage. I don't think that she understood your actions."

Zuko looked down, his face troubled. He softly inquired, "I kind of had a feeling that she wouldn't take it well, but this is something that I need to do. What about you? Did Ty-Lee understand when you gave her your letter?"

It was then my turn to look at my feet. My own face troubled and worried, "I-I didn't give her the letter explaining to her why I was leaving. For one it would make Azula wonder why Ty-Lee was sad and upset. But that's not really the reason why I didn't give it to her was that I wanted to tell her in person why I was leaving. I kept telling myself to tell her before I left but I was afraid. I didn't have the courage to face her right then and there. She's the best thing that happened in my life and I was afraid of letting that go so quickly. I know I'm an idiot for doing so. Anyway, I have to meet them in the Boiling Rock in a couple of weeks. Azula wants me to inform her on what's going on. I guess that's when I'll tell Ty-Lee everything that's needed to be said."

For the first time since my mother had died, I felt defeated. I knew my face betrayed my feelings for I saw Zuko's eyebrow go up in surprise. I walked past him and went into one of the rooms in the pagoda. I stayed in the room for a couple of hours until I heard the Water Tribe boy showing Zuko his room, which happened to be right across mine. When the boy finished leading Zuko to his room, I heard him mutter as he walked away, "This is just plain weird."

I smiled slightly and sat back on the bed, looking at the floor. I jerked my head back up when I heard light footsteps coming from the hallway. I looked out of my door and saw the Water Tribe girl standing in the Prince's doorframe. Zuko gave her a small smile but it soon disappeared when he heard her words. She said in a hostile voice, "You may have the rest of the group hung over your _**transformation**_ but both you and I know that you've had trouble distinguishing right from wrong. So I'm just going to say this once, if you make one step back or one reason for me to believe that you'll turn on Aang, you won't have to worry about your destiny anymore. I promise that I will personally end your destiny right then and there." The threat hung in the air as she left.

I stood up and stood in my doorway and looked at Zuko with interest. I wondered if this had something to do with the Avatar and Azula in Ba Sing Se. Zuko's face was still showed his shock and a slight trace of fear. When I saw the fear in his face I realized then that this Waterbender was not one to mess with.


	14. Chapter 14

When night finally came, Zuko and I went out to the courtyard together. Everyone else was trying to get situated for the evening. One kid in a wooden wheelchair and another one of about 8 with a battle helmet on his head were sitting talking while another guy of about 16 with Earth Kingdom clothes and a mustache was launching himself to the top of the cliff to collect wood for the fire. The blind girl and the Avatar were off training in the distance and the Water Tribe siblings were setting up the campfire.

When we walked toward the group, everyone turned and gave us distrusting looks. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Zuko get uncomfortable while I just smirked and walked to the other end of the temple leaving Zuko alone in the awkward situation. Once I reached the other end of the stone pagoda, I took off my robe and listened to the silence around me. I began to practice my Firebending moves; the light from the fire illuminating my side of the temple. After a while of doing the moves, a sudden rush realization hit me. I was free. It was the first time in a long time since I was free from the demands of my father and his want for me to become a soldier like him. Free of the punishments and the cold degrading words. I could do whatever I wanted to, and there was no one to stop me from doing so. Not Azula, nor my father, I was free. I had forgotten that Freedom felt so amazing, I was _**me**_ again.

I laughed silently as I manipulated lightning in my fingers. The energy from the lightning mixed with the joy of freedom was too much for me to handle so released the flow of energy and watched as the lightning hit the rocks on the other side of the cliff. After the moon finally rose, I stopped my training and practice. When I stopped, the area where I was stood dimmed considerably. I lit a small fire in my hand and I walked back to the dull campfire light where the others were sitting around. When I finally arrived by the campfire the others turned and looked at me. Silently, I sat a little farther away and crossed my legs looking down on the ground. After a while the others resumed their conversations.

I looked up and Zuko sitting on the other side looking uncomfortable and worried. All of the sudden the topic of the conversation turned from travel stories to what things each member has lost in the war. The Water Tribe girl looked at me with distaste and sneered, "Of course a few people here would not know what loss would feel like since some of us played a part in it."

I saw Zuko fidget in his seat but he said nothing to defend himself. I on the other hand, replied in a stony calm voice. "I believe that you are wrong about what you said. I know what loss feels like. You don't even know my life story but you are already judging me for what my father and Nation has done. I am a whole different person than my father."

The girl looked surprised that I responded to her statement, but her expression turned from surprise to disbelieving in a matter of moments. She then said, "Oh really? Then why don't you tell us your life story then o' kind and innocent warrior."

I had to smile at her sarcastic insult but then I said, "Very well then. If you don't believe me, maybe my story will change your views for people born whose fathers' are military leaders."

I stared into the fire as I finally let out the story that I've kept in for so long. "My name is Jang. My father is Jan-Lee Lei Won, the Supreme Commander for the Fire Lord's army. My mother was Rana Jon Fang before she married my father. She was the daughter of a high city official in the city of Ran-Chen. My grandfather was the Supreme Commander for Fire Lord Azulon, and he was based in Ran-Chen for a military mission. My father was just a boy then, and he met my mother when he accompanied my grandfather to a meeting. From what my mother had told me, it was love at first sight. I remember once asking her what she saw in my father." I stared deep into the fire and I saw the memories in my mind playing in the fire. I gave a small laugh, almost forgetting the others sitting around the fire. "She said that my father as a child was funny, caring, and a very kind person at heart. I didn't believe her when heard it, I still don't but I never told her that. I guess the hunger for power changed him.

"When I first learned how to walk my father started training me. I remember looking outside the windows of the room and just longing to go outside and play like the kids do. I was 2 years old. Every day at dawn till the moon was already high in the sky, I was in the training room with my father yelling from behind me. I remember what he said; 'You're not good enough' or 'You bring shame to our entire family' and the worse one, 'You are worthless and pathetic and you will never amount to anything in your life.'" I laughed when I saw that image playing in the fire. "But now 15 years later I'm one of the most feared Firebenders in the Fire Nation. If ever my father and I get in a duel, I know for a fact that I will win.

"Once when I was 6 I messed up on a move that I had just learned that day. My father wanted me to perfect everything in one day and when I failed to meet his standards of that day he ordered me to fight an Agni Kai. If my mother wasn't there he probably would've done it. He challenged me, then a 6 year old boy, to a Fire Duel. I was so scared of him then. I feared him. But then a year later my mother died. See, she was an Earthbender like I. Ran-Chen used to be an Earth Kingdom city until the Fire Nation took over. My mother's ancestors were all Earthbenders and it skipped her father and went right on to her. She learned the art in secret; I forgot who taught her though. Anyway, every time I was feeling down she would take me to an isolated place in our home where hardly anyone came by. She would always show me some of her bending and I asked her to teach me. That's when she realized that I was both a Firebender and an Earthbender. I only could manage the basics. Stopping rocks with my hands, creating an earthquake of small magnitude, and lifting a rock from the ground; the largest size I could muster was the size of regular boulder. I knew though that I couldn't be as good as my mother for she was Earth Kingdom through and through.

"Well we were in that part of our home and she was doing an Earthbending trick. She would lift a boulder from the ground and carve it into animals and other objects. It was the only time that I felt like a child; it was the only time that I could enjoy myself. But on that day my father and a group of his soldiers and the Fire Lord were looking for my mother and saw her at a distance bending; they didn't see me though. My mother saw them too, and told me to go hide behind a long curtain by the window. I hid behind the curtain and peeked from the sides to see what was happening. The Fire Lord was accusing my mother with treason for knowing how to Earthbend and my father said not a thing to defend her. I saw tears streaming down her face as she begged the Fire Lord for mercy, she also looked at my father in vain attempts to try and get him to defend her. My father said in a voice that sent chills down my spine that day, 'She deserves the punishment that you are about to give her Fire Lord. No wife of mine would ever think of acting against the Royal Family. Guards take her to the prison, make sure she is kept in an all metal room and keep constant watch around her. Now go!'" I snorted angrily and my anger caused the fire's flame to expand and heat up more. Out of the corner of my eyes I saw some people of the group unconsciously move back, their eyes though still focused intently on me.

"As I watched the guards take away my mother I felt a sudden wave of fury envelop me. It was on that day at 7 years old that I finally stopped fearing my father and knew that when I was capable, I would get the revenge that I so long deserved. When they had left the room, I went back to the main part of the house and waited for my father to return. Once he did, I asked him where my mother was and he said lying through his teeth, 'Don't worry son, your mother just went out of the city for a couple of weeks, she found out that her father was ill.' My father is one of the greatest liars in the world. All those years with him lying to me, I was finally able to tell whether he was lying or not. My mother taught me how to distinguish the vibrations coming from a person and that would help see if the person was lying or not. My father has been a liar most of his life so it was hard to see his vibrations but it was still there. I can even tell when Azula is lying to me; she's good but not as good as my father or the Fire Lord. So I can tell when people lie to me; it's actually easy for me now to tell. Trust me if I can tell Azula's or my father's then I know.

"A couple weeks went by and my mom wasn't there so my father told me that my mother was staying a little longer. Three weeks after we had that conversation he told me that my mother died. I didn't want to believe him but somewhere deep inside I knew what he was saying was true. I had just turned 8 and I went to one of the prison keepers who was one of the people who genuinely cared about me and I asked him if what my father said was true. The prison keeper looked down and said, 'I'm sorry to say young master but your mother has gone to the realm of the Spirits. She had gotten sick during her stay here and your father ordered that she was not allowed to be given any medicine to treat it. I'm sorry to tell you this but your mother is gone.' I felt tears welling up inside my eyes in when I heard it. I ran back to my house tears already streaming down my face.

"That was the last time that I cried. When I went to training the next day I didn't say one word to my father, and my father said nothing to me. His cruelty showed more as the days progressed, his verbal abuse became even harsher but I didn't care. I learned how to block him out and not to listen to anything he said. Besides yelling at me for not being perfect, my father hardly spoke one word to me. It was good for the both of us. My father wanted a soldier just like him. He never wanted a son. He plans for me were to marry _**Azula **_and become the Fire Lord." I looked up from the fire and met my gaze with Zuko's and said to him, "My father believed that your father still wasn't going to give you the crown. He believed that Azula would assume the throne and he wanted me to marry her."

I gazed back down to the fire and resumed, "That was his plan for me. He didn't care about what I thought about it, all he wanted was to use me to get what he wanted. One thing that he did not anticipate and know was that I do have my own my mind and my own plans for myself. My father does not know the magnitude of my skills; he still believes that he is still more powerful than me. That's why I joined all of you. I hate this war. It took away my mother, my childhood, and a lot more to the rest of the world. All I want is to play my part it ending it, and then I'll be on my way. You won't see me ever again." I stared deep into the fire for a moment. After a while of silence I finally let out the things that have worried me over the years. I said in a soft yet angry tone. "Fifteen years of cruelty and hardships have hardened me but as much as I don't want to admit it, I think I have become the soldier that my father wanted. That is one of the many things that I am ashamed of myself about. In the end I still have my father's legacy and I'm still his puppet. Uhhh!"

I slammed my hand down on the stone floor. Unconsciously, I used some of my Earthbending as the whole entire temple shook slightly. I saw the others look around nervously to make sure that the entire temple wouldn't fall to the bottom of the cliff. The Avatar then walked over to me and put a hand on my shoulder, he didn't know me yet he still comforted me. It was more than my father did. He then said something wiser than I had given him credit for. "A person should not be judged by his legacy but what he does for himself. It doesn't matter who your father is, what's more important is who _**you**_ are. Remember that."

I nodded my head in thanks to him but remained silent, cursing myself mentally for being almost defenseless. The Avatar then said in a cheerful voice, "I'm glad that we got to know you a little bit better. I'm Aang by the way." He then introduced the others in the group.

The beautiful dark-skinned Water Tribe Waterbender was named Katara and her brother was the Water Tribe boy, Sokka. The blind Earth Kingdom girl was Toph and the older Earth Kingdom boy with the mustache was Haru. The younger kid in the wooden wheelchair was Teo, and the youngest member of the group of about 8 was _**the**_ Duke. He even introduced the bison and his flying lemur. The bison was named Appa and the little lemur was Momo.

The next day I awoke at the break of dawn and went out of my room and to the edge of the temple. I dangled my legs from the edge and stared at the rising sun. I thought about all the things I said last night and it felt good to let it out. I felt as if all the weight of those hard memories that I kept to myself were finally lifted off of my shoulders. They would always be there but it felt like it would easier to move on in life without that burden and anger that I've held in for so long. It was sad that it took me 15 years to realize that I was not my father's son, and that I was never his puppet. And in just one night a wise 13 year old boy changed all that. I was in his debt.

It didn't take long before the others started waking up from their rooms and sleeping bags. The Avatar or Aang was the first to come out, a bright smile on his face. Katara was next with Toph, Haru, the Duke, and Teo. Zuko came from behind keeping his distance from the Water Tribe girl.

It wasn't until the sun was all the way up in the sky until Sokka woke up but even then he still looked tired.

A few hours after lunch, Zuko and the Avatar went off to the side of the temple to teach the Avatar Firebending. It seemed that their new plan to attack the Fire Nation was to go during Sozin's Comet and attack the Palace from then on. I then realized that I had no need to tell them on what was going on during the war meeting since they were still attacking during the day of the comet. I followed the Avatar and Zuko to the side of the Palace to watch and see what Zuko was showing him.

I smirked when Zuko told the Avatar that Firebending was a serious matter and if not taken seriously then it could turn against the bender like an angry Komodo Rhino. I laughed softly as the Avatar's face shifted from excitement to worry. My smile got even wider when Zuko told Aang to take a step back since it could get "dangerous".

I saw from the corner of my eye a good distance away, Katara was watching the session intently, her hands ready to open her water skin pouch if need be. I saw a look of worry and annoyance flash over her face as Sokka asked her to make him some more food. She went back around the campfire and started on the food for her brother but her face had that fierce concentration on. I knew that she would be listening for any signs of Aang being hurt. I also knew that she wouldn't hesitate to hurt Zuko and I if Aang had one scratch on him coming from us.


	15. Chapter 15

I resumed my attention back to the Avatar's lesson. Zuko tried to do some fire blasts but all that came out of his fists were tiny tufts of flame and smoke. I looked at his stance and saw that there was nothing wrong with it. Zuko was starting to get frustrated as he started doing other forms but no fire was coming out of his hands and feet. My whole body trembled with laughter as he stomped past me with a very confused Avatar trailing from behind.

Later that night, Zuko told the rest of the group about him temporarily losing the ability to bend. The Water Tribe girl laughed harshly and said, "What a strange turn of events. Don't you know how much easier our lives would have been if you had lost your bending when you were chasing after us. But please carry on."

Zuko then said, "The dragons were the first Firebenders in this world. But my uncle killed the last of the dragons, so I cannot learn from them. The first people to learn from the dragons were the Sun Warriors. They have a temple not too far away from here. If I could go to the temple then I could re-learn my bending, or find out what happened with it." He turned to Aang and asked, "Can I borrow your bi-, I mean Appa for a little while? I need to go the temple. I'm sure Jang could help you with your Firebending while I'm gone."

He looked at me, along with the others, waiting for my answer. I shook my head. "As much as I'd like to, I don't think I could. The main reason why is because I believe that it is Zuko's destiny to train the Avatar and I'm just here to help. And another thing is, I'm not known for my patience. As hard as it is to believe Zuko has more patience than I do. I guess after all those years from my father made me expect perfection from the first try." I turned to the Avatar, "I mean even though I know you are just learning it, and that you are part Waterbender and would struggle with it a little I cannot undo what I have been taught. Trust me, even if one hairline of your stance is wrong I will see it, and you'll just end up getting frustrated with me. So I can't."

The Avatar nodded in understanding and then said, "Well I guess I'll go with you then Zuko. Maybe we can learn some new form that even Jang doesn't know about there."

After the bison was good distance away, the others had left and went to do whatever they did, except for me and Katara. When Appa had completely gone from sight, Katara turned to me and said angrily, "Thanks a lot. Why couldn't you just train Aang here?! Now I don't know whether Zuko's going to turn his back on us and bring him to Azula. You practically put him on a golden platter!"

I smiled as she silently fumed beside me. I then whispered, "So how long have you been in love with him?"

Katara's face was suddenly flushed, and she stammered, trying to deny the truth. "I-I, I-I do-don't. I'm not in love with Aang okay. He's my best friend and I just couldn't take it if he got hurt. I'm not in love…." She added, more to herself than me.

I smirked and said, "Denying the truth will only make it harder for _**you**_ to admit it. The first time I looked at the both of I was already under the impression that you were a couple. Aang has made it very clear how he feels about you. Everyone even your own brother knows about it, I'm sure you're the only person who can't see it is you. Trust me, a best friend wouldn't threaten a person's life if they hurt, even a tiny scratch, of the designated person. Don't think that I didn't hear what you said to Zuko. You're in love with him. Keep hiding it or denying it, you'll end up hurting your own selves, mostly him though."

I was about to walk away when I heard Katara whisper in defeat, "I am in love with him but he as more important matters to deal with before me. I can't do that to him. The freedom and safety of the world is more important than me and my feelings right now. If we had a relationship and he fought the Fire Lord with me there, he wouldn't be able to concentrate. He'll keep worrying about me and forget to take care of himself. I already lost Aang once when Azula shot him; I don't think I could take it if it happened again."

I felt sympathy towards the younger girl. "It doesn't matter whether you're in a relationship with him now or not he will still worry about you. I think that it may be hard to believe it but I think that you are more important to him than the world. Don't worry; I'll keep my mouth shut until you are ready to admit it to him. If you need anyone to talk to, just let me know."

I left her there to ponder her feelings and went to train on the other side of the building. It wasn't until 2 days later before Zuko and Aang came back. Katara was clearly much happier when Aang arrived. She practically tackled the slightly shorter boy with a hug as soon as he jumped down from the bison. After the two showed the us what they had learned from the Sun Warrior's temple. It took me by a surprise when Zuko explained that the Sun Warrior civilization was still in existence along with 2 of the dragons. He said that the dragons breathed fire around the two of them, forming a cyclone of multiple colors. They said that it was like a million suns shining down on them, letting them harness it's power. The two performed a move called the Dancing Dragon which required the two of them to do moves in synchronization in the shape of a circle. After that technique, the two demonstrated some moves and it was successful.

It was the day before I was supposed to meet Azula and the others in the Boiling Rock when I saw Zuko passing around tea and attempted to make some tea jokes but failed terribly. When he got to Sokka, I heard Sokka ask him if he could talk to Zuko in private. The two walked out of hearing range of the others. I followed them; the others paying us no mind. I leaned against the cool stone pillar as I listened to the two boys talk. Sokka said, "Hey Zuko, where what prison would prisoners of war be sent to? I was just wondering."

I saw Zuko's eyes narrow as he suspiciously asked, "Why do you want to know? If you knew it would probably just make you feel worse. Trust me."

Sokka looked desperate. "Wait it's my dad. He was captured when the Invasion went wrong. It was my fault that we didn't fall back. It was my entire fault that the others were imprisoned. I need to know."

Zuko sighed in defeat then said, "It's called the Boiling Rock. You actually passed by it as you were flying by here. It's a prison located in the middle of a giant crater. The crater's filled with boiling water that will burn so badly even if one drop touches exposed skin. There's only one way to get to the prison and out, and that's by a lift run by thick metal ropes from the entrance of the prison to the edge of the crater."

Sokka nodded and pretended to yawn. He passed by Zuko, patting his shoulder while saying, "Thanks Zuko, knowing that just makes me feel better."

When Sokka finally sat back down on his seat by the camp fire Zuko and I looked at one another. I then said to hi, "He'll be trying to sneak out tomorrow if you couldn't tell. I suggest you go on Appa first he might try to sneak out with him. I'll have to be leaving too. Azula wants to meet me at the Boiling Rock. I'll leave around the same time you do. I think the most appropriate thing for you to get disguise as is a prison guard, when you see me say, 'Let the Dragon free for they are still alive.' I'll know that it'll be you. Azula will probably be furious at me for not "capturing you" but it's worth the risk. It'll be fun to tell your sister that I am now a full-fledged traitor. I'm excited."

An excited and savage grin same to my face that made Zuko look at me with worry. He nodded his head then asked, "I know it's none of my business but what about Ty-Lee? Have you thought about what you were going to say to her?"

The smile immediately went of my face. I took a deep breath and said, my voice barely above a whisper, "Yes, I've thought about what I was going to say but every time I try to say out loud it comes out so wrong. She's the only one girl that has really seen and likes the real me and not the money, the looks. All the other girls only like me because of my father's position in power, and the way I look. That's only from a distance. All of them know my reputation and they fear me. Ty-Lee actually wanted to know _**me**_ and no one has ever done that before. And she's the only girl that has ever made me feel this way before. How many girls do you know that can block a bender's chi and render them helpless for hours? She's unique not the typical "date because I'm pretty type". She's beautiful but also different, like me, like the rest of us. She's best thing that's happened to me. I don't want to hurt her." I shrugged my shoulders and went to my room to prepare for the trip tomorrow. I wore my long, red silk pants and a sleeveless, red vest, my muscled torso exposed. My golden bands on my arms, between the curves of the muscles still gleamed because of the light of the glare of the moon. I made sure that my clasps were filled with the thin blades, along with my clasps around my legs. I wrapped my sword loosely around my waist. I sat crossed leg in front of my bed and remained unmoving until the sun started rising in the sky.


	16. Chapter 16

The next day I walked out to the courtyard where the others were asleep and carefully walked past to make sure that Toph wouldn't feel my vibrations. I walked past the place Appa was resting at and I saw that Sokka had fallen on the ground with Zuko on Appa's saddle telling Sokka something. I was too far away to hear but I saw Sokka grumble something as Zuko climb down the bison's back and head to where Zuko's stolen War Balloon was. I climbed the rocks to where my eel hound was. I saw that it was still asleep, and slightly fat from all the food and no exercise.

I untied his bridle and took led him to the water where we started our voyage to the Boiling Rock. I looked to the horizon behind me and saw the Air Ship just taking off from the island. By the rate that they were going, it would take till dusk before they arrived at the prison. That was one reason why I hated War Balloons, they were so slow. It was mid-afternoon by the time I arrived at the shore of the crater. I climbed off the eel hound and released it. Sure enough, it went in the general direction to the Fire Nation. I knew that I was watching the last chance to change my mind disappear into the horizon. My lips curved into a genuine smile, I was ready to face whatever came at me head-on like I always did. I was anticipating my meeting Azula; it was going to be fun.

I went into the entrance of the prison and was soon flocked by guards. My face was hidden in the shadows so they didn't see me. They started to hold me back; they grabbed my arms trying to stop me from moving. I easily pushed them away like someone flicking away a small bug. I walked towards the guards who were laying flat on the floor, getting ready to attack. My face was finally visible to them. "Master Jang," they whispered in fear and surprise. They quickly stood up and bowed. The biggest of the guards came forward and said, "I am the captain of this squadron sir, please forgive us. The Warden did not inform us of your arrival and we could not see your face very well. I beg you for your forgiveness." I glared at them coldly before I nodded and went up the metal steps to the lift that would take me to the main prison.

Once I made it to the main prison I walked to the Warden's office and found him yelling at two soldiers. The Warden was a short and stubby man. He was known for bad temper and was Mai's uncle. He was also known for his pride to keep the record of no escapes in the Boiling Rock. When he saw me he bowed low and yelled at the guards to do the same. I stared at him with the disgust evident on my face. He said to me in a gravelly voice, "Welcome Master Lei Won. We were not expecting you to be here. May I know what the purpose is for your arrival?"

I glared at him coldly. I said in a hard voice, "It is not of any importance to you why I am here before you. And do not call me 'Master Lei Won' that is my father and I am not my father now am I? I'll be staying here in the Boiling Rock for a few days." I turned to look away then said with my back to the Warden, "And, I hope not to find any of your guards following me. My father and I share this common thing, we _**despise**_ spies. Keep it in mind Warden."

I felt the Warden's challenging glare from behind me and I smirked. _**I **_really was going to enjoy the moment Azula shows up.

The next day in the middle of the afternoon, there was a commotion out in the prison yard. Guards formed a circle around the captain that I met yesterday and a taller, muscular prisoner. I stood beside on of the guards and he turned to me bowed while saying, "Let the Dragon free for they are still alive." My lips curved up when I saw the guard's left eye partially closed and burned. I nodded to him and looked to his side to see Sokka's ocean blue eyes through the eye holes of the helmet. I was interrupted when I saw the captain Firebend on the prisoner. The prisoner had no choice but to retaliate and Firebend to stop the fire from burning his skin. The guard released his stance and said in his gruff voice, "You know the rules Chit Sang, no Firebending! To the Coolers!" He pointed to Sokka and said, "Hey you guard, come here and help me bring him to the Coolers. Let's go now!"

Sokka turned to Zuko and said, "We'll meet back here after I get done with my duty here." He then ran after the bulky guard who was leading the prisoner to the Coolers. The rest of the guards herded the other prisoners back to their cells leaving Zuko and I there with only the guards on the battalion making sure that the prisoners didn't try to escape. I turned to Zuko and said quietly, "Smart disguise, a guard's outfit is easy to find and is also easy to conceal your face. The others will likely to be here by tomorrow, Azula's going to want to see me before long. I also suggest that you hide your War Balloon so that Azula won't see it and alert the Warden."

Zuko smiled dryly, "The War Balloon got destroyed when we landed. The steam coming from the hot water was making the Balloon drop lower and lower until we landed on the bank. We pushed the wrecked War Balloon into the boiling water, at least that way no one could see what was underneath it. We sneaked into the prison since the guards on duty fell asleep during their lookouts, it was easy. We found a room filled with the guard outfits and as soon as we finished changing we were called out here because of the commotion."

It was then my turn to smile as I nodded my head in understanding. I started to walk away then I said in the same hushed tones, "Watch out Zuko, take care of your actions. Azula's coming sometime tomorrow and it would do well for you to stay out of the way and avoid a fight as much as possible. Help Sokka as much as you can with finding his father, the faster you both find him, the faster you both can get out of here. I'll deal with Azula." I saw his smile form into a hard set line as he nodded and walked back into the prison.

The next morning I got a message from one of the Warden's soldiers. The stammering soldier told me, "M-Mas-Master Jang, the Warden wishes to see you in his office. He has something that he will think will interest you. I-I-It's v-v-v-very important."

I quickly stood up, tied my sword around the sash loop and clasped on my golden knife bracelet. I left my vest on the bed and walked with the upper half of my body empty of any clothing. I was in such a rush that I forgot to tie my hair in a topknot. I walked briskly that the guard had trouble catching up with me. I made it into the office before the guard and walked in it. The Warden was there looking out his window, his hands folded behind his back. It was so early that the sun had not even risen in the sky yet. The stars were still bright and there was no trace of dawn to be seen. He then said in his gravelly voice, "Good morning Master Jang. I hope that you slept well. I am sorry for interrupting you if you were asleep but-"

I interrupted him by saying angrily, "Instead of wasting your time trying apologize to me about something you don't even care about, show me what was so important to disturb me! I also hope that what you have to show me is so important that you have to wake me up this early or else you will be begging the Spirits to stop me from punishing you. "

"Very well Master Jang, follow me." The Warden walked out of the room and into one of the cells down the hall from him. I noticed that this was the only cell that had three guards posted outside the door. The Boiling Rock was a prison for the Fire Nation's worst prisoners and I know that most of the people here are very dangerous but yet in all the times I've been to the Boiling Rock have I ever seen guards posted outside the door of the prisoner. As I was walking towards the cell, I rested my hand to the hilt of my sword, ready for any sudden attack. Whoever was in there was going to be very dangerous.

I slowly walked into the room and in the dim light I saw Zuko in a prisoner's outfit leaning against the metal wall. He looked up and when he saw me, his eye widened but yet he still remained silent. I said in an expressionless tone to the Warden, "Warden, you and your soldiers leave here now! Tell the guards outside to leave along with you; I have to deal with this prisoner for what he did to me in the Palace. If I see or hear any of your men listening out for you, I will personally come for you. Now go!"

From behind me I heard the Warden growling under his breath but said nothing out loud. I heard the shuffle of the soldiers' feet leaving the room and then the Warden's heavy footsteps leaving the room. I turned around and made sure that no one was there and I turned to Zuko and said angrily, "What are you doing here?! Didn't I just say to you the other day not to get in trouble?! Azula is coming here today, along with Mai and Ty-Lee. They're going to know that you're here and who knows what Azula is going to do?! And if didn't know the Warden is Mai's uncle, and who knows what Mai will do when you're in here! You know Zuko there was a reason why I always thought that you were an idiot! You proved me right!"

I saw Zuko visibly bite back a retort, his face pale with anger. He said in a controlled tone although I could still hear his anger underneath it all, "The Warden already told me about Mai and his relation to her. I can deal with Azula if that's what you're worried about," Zuko's anger finally taking over. "I'm not a little kid! I am fully capable of taking care of myself from my sister that is 2 years younger than I am!"

"Zuko, you know as well as I that Azula may be 14 but she has the skills that Firebenders in their old years can't even do. You should be thankful for Sokka that he has another plan for escaping. His father and another girl is going to be helping us escape. I'm sure he's already told you where to meet; I'll see you there once I'm done dealing with Azula and the others. Once we are safely out of here, I want here the whole story of how you got captured. I…" I stopped when I heard the faint noises of running footsteps coming towards the cell. Without warning I slammed Zuko to the wall and out my arm on his neck. I saw him look at me in surprise which changed into understanding when I whispered, "Guard." When I knew the guard was in earshot I yelled out my voice coated with false anger, "And this is for being a traitor to the Fire Nation and betraying your own father."

The guard was out of breath when he arrived at the door. He said breathlessly, his eyes wide with fear, "Master Jang, Princess Azula and her friends have arrived at the Boiling Rock. The Princess has asked for audience immediately. She said that she doesn't want to be kept waiting."


	17. Chapter 17

I looked down and smirked; my hair covering my smirk from the guard. I nodded my head and slowly released my grip on Zuko's neck. I slowly walked out of the room and into the hallway following the guard who was walking briskly ahead of me. Once I left I saw that the Warden had sent more guards to the monitor Zuko. I made it out to the prison and into the Prison Yard; I saw that the sun had already risen into the sky. The sun's light gleaming off the golden bracelets on my bare arms. I walked up to the prison entryway and saw Azula, Mai, and Ty-Lee standing there.

Azula looked at me angrily, her arms crossed. Mai stood there leaning against the wall, her face passive as usual, her fingers caressing a shiny stiletto. She looked at me, her eyes showing anger and her fingers looking like they were itching to throw the knife at me. I grinned coldly before I turned to Ty-Lee. She was looking down, cheeks slightly pink. I saw her smile when she saw me looking at her. Before I could say anything to her Azula said icily, "Where were you Jang? We sent this fool of a guard for you and we waited about 15 minutes. As you can see he has arrived before you and he is a blundering oaf! You know that I do not like to be kept waiting!"

I looked down to hide my smirk. I then responded with the same tone, "I'm sorry for making you wait Princess. I had just woken up and I'm still a little tired. I am _**so **_sorry for the inconvenience."

I saw Azula's fists clench but she refrained from Firebending. I put my guard up, making sure to watch every movement that the Princess was doing. She then said in her regular tone, "Well Jang, it seems that you have failed in your attempt to capture Zuko. The Warden seems to have done all the work for you. Lucky for him though that I still have to talk to the Warden to see if any of the Avatar's friends accompanied my _**dear **_brother and if any of them had to deal with the attempted prison escape yesterday."

She stalked off with Mai trailing behind her. I could see the look on Mai's face that she was ready to see Zuko and to finally say the things that were on her mind. There was an awkward silence between me and Ty-Lee. Neither one of us knew what to say so we just walked silently into the prison, walking next to one another but also not. Once we made inside, she pulled me into an empty room and hugged me around the neck, tears running down her smiling face. I smiled slightly and wrapped my arms around her waist pulling her closer. My smile then wiped off my face when a thought flashed through my mind. Would she still smile like that even after I beg her for her forgiveness at what I was going to do? That thought was quickly wiped from my mind when Ty-Lee turned my head to face her. I looked down; I could feel the rush of blood reaching my face. When I looked up I saw that she was blushing too. Slowly she wrapped her arms around my neck and gently pulled my head down. She pressed her lips against mine and once again instinct took over when she did that.

I wrapped my arms around her waist and before I knew it I was pulling her closer. We stayed there until I forced my unwilling self to pull away. Ty-Lee looked at me with confusion in her eyes but before she could verbally say it I grabbed both her hands and put them on my thudding heart. I said softly my voice coated with guilt, "Ty-Lee, I need you to know that you are the best thing that has happened to me in my entire life. This thing beating is under your hands is yours till forever. Know that even if you moved from me, it will still belong to you. And I-I apologize to you in advance for what I am going to do," I saw her open her mouth but I looked at her pleadingly and she listened again. "I am sorry for what I'm going to do but I need to ask a favor from you."

I looked at her waiting for her answer and once she nodded I resumed, "The thing that I'm about to do will probably make you hate me forever. I am not asking for you to be forgiving of me for I know I don't deserve it. As much as it would hurt me for you to hate me, it would be so much better than you getting hurt. The favor I wanted to ask is to not tell Azula that I am planning to do something. This thing that I'm about to do could greatly change the Fire Nation and everyone in it. I believe that I am finally doing the things that the Spirits have destined for me to do and I don't think I can change that. The only thing that I can tell you about what I am planning to do is that, it will come soon. It is coming very, very soon.

"And Ty-Lee I want you to also know that I-I, I love you. You're the only person that I've felt this way for and I just need you to know that."

I kissed her one more time before running down the hallway and to the prison yard where the others were waiting for me to escape. Once I made it out to the courtyard I saw that all the prisoners were fighting one another. I grinned in awe, sometimes the hard-headed Water Tribe boy was a genius. He started a prison riot to distract the guards and the Warden.

I looked around to see Zuko, Sokka and three others surrounding a gagged and tied Warden and they were heading to the lift area. It seemed that Zuko was lucky that he survived Mai and her pent up anger and rage. I ran after them, pushing down any prisoner standing in my way. I stopped for a moment and saw that running would have taken too long and Zuko and the others were already getting ready to go into the lift. I ran to the wall and started grabbing the pipes and the beams and lifted myself up to the second then third level. I ran towards the others and saw that Azula and Ty-Lee were arriving to the lift platform at the same time I was. The lift where Zuko and the others were in was already on its way to the top of the volcano.

The guards were standing around not knowing what to do until Azula ran up to one and grabbed his handcuffs and clasped them on the wire. She then used her Firebending to launch herself towards the lift. Ty-Lee jumped on the thin wire and ran across it as if it were solid ground, as she made her way to the lift to help Azula with the fight. I was about to run on the wires until I heard the Warden, apparently freeing himself from his gag shout to the guards on the platform, "Cut the line!" As soon as he said that a tall muscular prisoner, the one that I saw get sent to the Cooler because of the captain, holding down the Warden. I was making my way through the thick throng of guards when I saw Mai pushing down one of the guards that was sawing the wires. Then she started throwing her knives at the soldiers that were coming at her. I grinned and grabbed the two bulking soldiers in front of me and banged them with one another.

Before I started on the other soldiers I saw Azula and Ty-Lee jump onto a lift coming to the prison platform. They looked over to us and from the distance I could make out Azula's angry snarl and Ty-Lee's confused face. I jumped back into the fight and began to help Mai as the tide of soldiers started coming in. I saw that Mai had at least two blades in her hands as she ran kicked the saw that was jamming the wires and preventing Zuko and the others from escaping. She then threw the blades at four soldiers who were coming from behind her. She turned to look at me and I saw surprise evident in her face. I nodded to her and she resumed her fight. I saw Zuko looking out the window of his lift and saw with surprise on his face that it was Mai that was actually helping them escape. He gave me a questioning glance and I just responded with a stiff nod. I wasn't done yet.

When Azula and Ty-Lee finally made it back to the platform Mai was held by two guards. Her arms held behind her, I on the other hand was surrounded by 10 guards that I could have easily defeated but I wanted to see Azula's reaction. She made her way to us with Ty-Lee behind her looking at me with an injured expression. I felt my heart constrict but I knew that this was something that I was going to have to do. Azula went in front of us and commanded to the guards, "Leave us now!" She turned to me first and said, "Do you have any idea what you are doing Jang?! You're now a traitor exactly like Zuko! Was this your pl…," She stopped when all my actions finally formed the big picture in her mind. She then continued her anger doubled, "This was plan from the beginning. You wanted to join the Avatar and his group in the first place and you let Zuko escape from the Palace! One thing that I don't understand is why you're doing this! You're usually are obedient and take orders..."

I interrupted her angrily my voice filled with my rage but yet still so cold, "I don't take orders from you or your father anymore! I guess you're wrong about me Azula. I am not my father's puppet anymore; I live for myself now and not for anybody else." I made fire appear on my palm and stared at it with a savage grin on my face. I kept staring in the flame while I said to Azula, finally saying what I wanted to say for a long time. "I guess I am a traitor Azula, and it feels so _**good**_ to be finally free…. Tell my father I send my regards." I then launched a wide hush of fire to Azula and once she was distracted I jumped on the wires and stood there as the guards were rushing in to help the Princess.

I saw the Princess push the guards away and turned to Mai and began to yell. I was too far away in the middle of the wires to hear what Azula was saying but I could see Mai's face turn angry. Before I knew it I saw Mai with a blade in her hand and Azula getting ready to Firebend with Ty-Lee in between them looking frantic. As Azula was about to attack, Ty-Lee hit her in her ribs and underneath her arms and was Azula's body fell, paralyzed. The guards surrounded them as two helped Azula up. I stared wide eyed, until I heard Azula yell at the guards to burn the wires when she saw me still balancing on it. One guard sent a blast of fire up the wires and it started burning quickly. I felt the ropes starting to fall as I ran as fast I could without falling into the boiling hot river below me. I was good at balancing myself on thin wires but never was I as good as Ty-Lee.

Once I made it to the cliff of the volcano I turned around and saw the guards taking Mai and Ty-Lee into the prison and I felt a surge of guilt and rage enveloping. I could picture Azula's cruel smirk clearly in my mind as if she was standing right in front of me. In my anger I let out a huge blast of fire mixed with lightning in the direction of the prison once I made sure that Mai and Ty-Lee were a safe distance away from the blast. I was about to send another blast until Zuko broke my violent trance. He yelled and said, "Jang! Come on, we have to go!" I turned to see him standing near a grand Air Ship which was probably Azula's. The others were getting ready to board and reluctantly I turned away and ran down the volcano and towards the ship.


	18. Chapter 18

I went to the other side of the ship and climbed to a platform where the lookout would usually stay. I felt the ship rise to the air and began to go in the direction of the Western Air Temple. I stood on the platform and looked out to the late afternoon sun, images of Ty-Lee's hurt and angry face flashing in my mind. Suddenly, I felt another cold wave of violent rage wash over me when the image of the guards taking Ty-Lee into the metal prison appeared in my mind, then the image flashed and it went to Azula's face. I clenched my fists when I saw her telling the guards to take the two girls away. All throughout the entire trip I imagined the pain that I wanted to inflict onto Azula, revenge the first thing that I wanted to do.

We landed back to the temple when the sun was about to set. I saw that the people left behind had gathered around the temple getting ready to attack until Sokka waved his arms out the window, an excited look on his face. When we were fully landed on one of the temples, and once the door opened the Water Tribe boy shushed his sister and said in a happy tone, "We came back from our fishing trip and we brought back the best meat of all, the meat of friendship and fatherhood."

He spread his arms wide open and a middle aged man with the same blue eyes as the Water Tribe siblings emerged first and was soon tackled by Katara. She grasped him in a tight hug and had tears streaming down her eyes as she said, "Dad!" Sokka was next to join in the hug. Next to come out was the prisoner, Chit Sang and next to him was a girl. It appeared that she was Sokka's girlfriend since she was holding his hand after Sokka was done with his hug.

Aang then asked Sokka to tell the entire group what had happened throughout the two days. After the story was told, the Avatar asked Sokka and Zuko where I was. They didn't have to answer when they heard me jump down from the platform. The girl looked at me and I saw her visibly tense up as she hissed, "What's _**he**_ doing here?! I've seen him and his father when I was in the prison. He's a Fire Nation brat! I've heard of his father and _**his **_reputation. He's like his father, face and all!"

I glared at her with narrow eyes, my anger still not fully gone. She took me by surprise though, when she said my father and I looked alike. I had already known that my father and I shared a resemblance but it never crossed my mind that we were that familiar. I took a deep breath and tried to forget what she said. I quickly replaced my surprise with a slight anger and said, smirking, "I know who you are. Maybe not your name but I know where you come from and who you associate yourself with." I looked her square in the eyes and said slowly, "You're a Kyoshi Warrior."

She looked at me with wide eyes. I could tell that she was trying to keep her surprise out of her face but it was a failure. She asked her cold tone still there. "And how would you know that, Princess's puppet?!"

Zuko and Aang were shooting the girl warning glances and Sokka unconsciously moved in front of the girl, his narrowed eyes looking at me with caution. I replied in a stony, monotone voice, "I know that you are a Kyoshi Warrior because of the hard gleam in your blue-gray eyes. The light yet hard step of your feet makes me know that you face your fights head on but yet you can still run from a fight. You're lean and slightly muscular which makes me know that you've been in many fights. The way you hold your head up is also a clear sign. You hold it up, proud and high. I am willing to wager that you're the leader of the Kyoshi Warriors." I could see from the look on her face that I was correct with my assumption. I smirked then continued my tone softer than the last time but it was still as hostile as before. I spoke loud enough though for everyone to still hear me, "You are correct that I am from the Fire Nation but I couldn't be farther from a brat. My father never pampered me or gave me anything I wanted. On the contrary my father was the first person to teach me that the world was not a good place. He was the first one to teach me the meaning of suffering! And don't you get me started on Azula, at least I know how defend myself against her attacks. I've heard how the Princess and her friends had captured the leader of the Kyoshi Warriors and the other Warriors. I'm sure that story was applied to you?"

The girl glared at me angrily and ran at me her fists clenched. The others backed away but Sokka tried to stand in front of me and to calm down his girlfriend. I snarled at him, "Let her go Sokka! She wanted a fight then let her prove to me that she is a Kyoshi Warrior."

I got my stance ready and breathed out. She came at me with punches but I easily blocked them away. I then threw hard punches at her and watched as she deflected them easily, my anger directed through all my punches. This went on for about an hour until I felt all my anger flow away but we both evened each other out. Whatever punch I did, the girl managed to match me evenly. She tried using my own strength against me but I already knew how to defend myself against that. It was almost dusk when I finally succeeded in defeating the girl. She threw a punch at me but was unaware that her stance was wider than it should be. I saw my opening. I slipped my foot behind her back foot and tripped her to the side in a matter of seconds. Before she fell flat on her face, I grabbed her arm and stood her straight up. I faced her and said, "As much as I hate to admit the resemblance between my father and me, I cannot help it. I promise you though, that the looks are the only thing my father and I share. If I was truly my father's son, I would've let you drop to the ground and not have a care in the world but unlike him, I have a heart and it actually beats." I scoffed. "I know that's very hard to believe and I have a hard time believing it too, but it's there despite it hidden by so many layers of protection that I had to put. Oh, and another thing. I was never Azula's pet. If I get the chance I will enjoy hurting her as mush as you or Katara would. She knows how to hit the heart, doesn't she?"

I left her there looking at me stunned. I turned and faced a slightly blushing Katara. I flashed her a small smile and I could see from the look of jealousy on Aang's face that he caught the look. My smile involuntary went wider as I turned to walked to the other side of the temple where I had practiced my Firebending for the first time in the Temple. I sat on the ledge, my feet dangling below me. I stayed there till dusk. Everything that happened at the Boiling Rock and what happened with the Kyoshi girl replaying over and over in my mind. The words of the girl was the only thing that came up in my mind. Her words echoing again and again but as much as I tried to shake them away, it wouldn't. As much as I tried to convince myself otherwise, I guess I would never be freed of my legacy.

When the moon had finally risen in the sky, I heard footsteps coming from behind me. I already knew who it was without turning. "I can still remember the hurt that was in her eyes when she saw that I betrayed them, Zuko. I could feel my heart, after all those layers that I put to try and guard it fall away and disappear. With the barriers gone, my heart was vulnerable. I saw the anger in her eyes along with the sadness. I don't know how you can take Mai being mad at you." I let out an angered breath when the thought of Azula came into my mind. I then said in a deathly soft whisper, "And then Azula…. I absolutely hate her being. She put the two of them in prison. Given the chance, I will gladly take her on."

Out of the corner of my eye I saw that Zuko nodded his head in agreement. We both stayed silent for the rest of the time. The two of us were both thinking about our messed up lives, and pains. It wasn't so hard to believe that we had the _**best **_lives ever.

At dawn the next morning the pain had slowly started ebbing away but it was still there, a soft thudding pain on my heart. I went to the courtyard and saw that Zuko and Aang were already training in the distance, Katara sitting on the fountain, watching every move Zuko made. I softly walked next to her, and watched silently along with her. I said, my voice no higher than a whisper, "Have you told him yet?"

I saw her flinch in surprise when she heard me. She quickly regained her composure and shook her head. I let out a small laugh and said before I walked towards the training lesson, "You should tell him before he starts getting jealous at every guy that talks to you. He's already suspecting me and you as a couple because I smiled at you yesterday. It's actually funny really."

I walked away knowing that she was staring at me in disbelief. Once I made it to the far end of the temple, I watched Zuko teaching the young Avatar more Firebending moves that were getting more complicated by the minute. The Avatar tried following the steps but he couldn't get them at the first try. He sighed in frustration and hit one of the stone pillars. Once his hand went away from the wall, there was a massive crack left behind. He yelled in frustration, "Why can't I get it?! It looks so simple when you do it, but I, the supposed master of all the Elements can't even do it! How am I supposed to defeat the Fire Lord if I can't even do a simple Firebending move?!"

Zuko looked awkward and didn't know how to handle the situation. I then stepped out from the shadows of the pillar and said to the young Avatar, "Don't worry about it Aang, the move that you are learning is far from simple. Some of the even most advanced Firebenders have difficulty completing that move. You'll get before the Comet comes, I am sure of it."

Aang still looked angry, he then said in an accusing tone, "But you know how to do it. I bet that you could do this in your sleep! I'm supposed to be the almighty Avatar and I can't even surpass two advanced Firebenders! Some lousy Avatar I am."

I let out a spiteful laugh then said, "Aang, the only reason that I got to be where I am at now, was because my father didn't allow me to have a life. He pushed me farther than he should've pushed me at that age. The key to Firebending is to be confident in your abilities, to have goal in your mind and pushing through with it. Once you have that it'll be easier to grab the concept. Oh, and it also helps if you find anger towards the person that you are fighting. You're fire is going to have more intensity and heat to it. Anyway, I think that it is time for _**you **_to have a break and let the teacher get _**his**_ lesson. It is time for the true master show how it is done."

I looked at Zuko and he knew at once the direction of our conversation. He grabbed the Avatar by the collar of his shirt and pulled him back a couple feet away. Zuko walked a few steps towards me and got ready in his stance. I smiled ruthlessly; it felt like a lifetime ago since I first fought the Banished Prince. I took of my robe and dropped it to the ground along with my hair ribbon. My long, uneven hair falling over my forehead and over my eyes. I felt my anger suddenly reappearing but this time I wanted it out and I directed that anger towards the Prince. I waited for him to attack, my arms and legs tensed, ready for the attack. I saw from the corner of my eyes that Aang was staring at us with wide eyes while the other were starting to make their way around us. Katara was the first one to come near us.

Before long, Zuko sent a wave of fire in my direction. Before I blocked it, I enjoyed the heat that was coming to my body. It made me feel alive. The others stared at me as the fire came closer and closer but I sent my own wave of fire to block the one coming to me. Before Zuko could send another attack I sent blazing Fireballs his way. He blocked most of them but one whizzed past his face, if it had been there a fraction of a second longer it would have burned the other side of his face. I was so caught up in unleashing the anger that I felt, that I didn't realize that I had sent a bolt of lightning at Zuko. I saw Zuko's eyes widen in surprise and fear but before I could pull it back, he redirected it at me. I let out a small breath to prepare myself of absorbing the intense energy. When I felt the energy of the lightning surging through my fingers and into my body, I felt exhilarated. I let the intense energy course through me for a while, the lightning covering me with a pale blue light, the sound of the crackle the only sound to be heard in the stunned silence. When I felt that I couldn't take the amount of energy anymore, I directed all of the energy into my stomach and let it out through my mouth. I breathed out the smoke and watched it drift away. A few minutes later I felt a slight pain over my body. I looked over myself and saw that I was covered with light burns from the prolonged presence of the lightning on my body. I ignored the pain; it was minor compared to the some that I have received.

I looked over to the side and saw that everyone was there watching, while Zuko was still in his spot looking at me cautiously as if I would send another blast of lightning at him. The silence in the temple was deafening until Aang couldn't contain his excitement anymore. He yelled out, "Wow! That was amazing," He turned to me and I saw a plea in his eyes as he begged, "Can you teach me how to generate lightning, and how to redirect it and how to absorb it like you did there? I'm ready to learn!"

I smirked a little as I saw the inner child that the Avatar kept inside coming out. I said to him, "It is not part of my destiny to teach you your lessons. It's Zuko's job. He can teach you how to redirect the lightning but I don't think he can teach you how to generate it nor do you have any need for it. Lightning is dangerous, with one wrong move you can end up killing yourself. And as for absorbing the lightning is something that should not be done by just anyone, the danger that you are in when just generating lightning is doubled when you absorb it. To tell you the truth the only reason I learned about this was because my father shot lightning at me when we were training. I took it in longer than usual and I felt myself burning, but luckily I was able to let the energy pass through me before I could hurt myself further. All through that ordeal my father just watched, and he did nothing. Aside from that though, I got one of my other trainers to help me with the lightning moves. I started practicing with it. I learned to transfer the energy through my stomach then out through my mouth and by then the energy would've turned to smoke. The same goes for when you send a bolt at someone and decide to pull it back; the only difference is that it requires more physical and mental strength. Me having that at this age, trust me, it's not a good thing. Anyway, absorbing lightning doesn't come without consequences." I gestured to the burns around my body.

I saw that Sokka was holding his sword and sweat pouring down his face and I decided that it was time that I had practice in my sword. I looked at Sokka and said, "Hey Sokka, it's your turn to get a lesson. Bring your sword; it's been awhile since I fought in a swordfight. I see from your sword that the great Piandao made it; let's see if you learned anything from the master himself." I walked over to one of the stone pillars and retrieved my sword that was leaning against it.

I slowly picked it up and went back to where Sokka and the others were. I unsheathed my sword while saying, "I was a student under the master for 13 years. I started since I was 3. He made me make my own sword, and with all the work and trouble that I went through to make this sword, I can't help but feel proud that this is _**my**_ own." I held the blade to the sun. The lightning blue blade glinting in the sun, the characters 龍光 engraved down the blade. The long blade was about 3 ft in length and 3 ½ in. in width. The sword's hilt was plated with a light layer of gold, giving it weight but not enough to slow me down. The hilt was shaped as a dragon breathing out a ball of fire at bottom. The ball of fire was made out of a blood red stone, which shimmered in the light. The hilt was wide enough to fit my large hand. "This is Dragon of the Light. I found the material for the blade while was shoveling coal from a nearby mine for Piandao. It's actually a stone that had to be heated for a long time; I supplied the fire. The engraving and name is something I did, the Master offered to do it for me but I refused, I needed the sword to be completely done by me. The only thing that the Master supplied was the red gem at the bottom of the hilt. I carved the hilt from steel and layered it with gold. It took me 10 years to finish, so since that time I made do with one of his practice swords. But enough talk, are you ready?"

Sokka was still staring at my sword with awe, his jaw wide open. I waved my sword in front of his face and he seemed to snap back to normal. He unsheathed his sword and I saw that it was solid black; it wasn't a metal, it gleamed brighter than one. I looked at him quizzically. He said while stroking his blade caringly, "It's a meteor rock. There was a meteor shower and this fell close by. I only studied with Piandao for a week but I think I can match you, Jang."

I smiled at the younger boy's confidence and went into my stance, my hand grasping the sword tightly in my hand. Sokka went into his stance, his eyes set in determination. We stood still for a moment until Sokka ran up and tried to strike me with the blade. I blocked him and said, "You're rushing to a fight, sometimes you need to analyze the best way to attack." He grunted angrily as he took another swipe but I countered and took a lunge at him. The point of my blade almost pierced through is stomach; he was barely in time to block the attack. After the block he looked at me with wide eyes, and he let out an incomprehensible babble of protest. I merely smiled at the boy. Before he could react again, I sent another jab at him, and put my leg behind one of his feet. When I pulled my foot back, Sokka tumbled back and fell on his back. I laid my sword lightly on his neck and whispered, "Dead."


	19. Chapter 19

He pushed the sword away and swung himself up; he was ready in his stance in less than a moment. Sokka was determined to win. I just smiled and lowered my sword from his neck. I said to him, "You've learned a lot from the master in however little time you had. It was an honor to fight against you. I hope that people will remember you all in the stories they will tell of the ones who ended the hundred year old war." I smirked though not unkindly. I walked past the others and went to other side of the temple to train on my own.

The next week was mostly uneventful. I helped Zuko train Aang and sparred with Sokka or Suki. On some days, I would train with Toph; she helped me extend my abilities with my Earthbending by a landslide. After every session I always ended with having bruises and aches over my body. Toph was not afraid to give me a challenge nor did I want her to take it easy on me. She and I got along so well. She was blunt, straight forward, sarcastic and a master at her bending at only twelve years old. I appreciated her help. When I wasn't doing ant training, I would either sit on the edge of the temple to think or talk to Katara about anything. I found it very easy to talk to Katara, she was like someone I could confide in and I knew that she sincerely cared, and she was always there to comfort me.

When I would sit on the edge of the temple, I would think about the last month. It wasn't only Zuko who changed, I had too. I never thought that before this moment I would finally be released from the holds of my father. I never believed that the pain from before would ever disappear; yes, it was still there but it didn't hurt as much. Never once did I believe that I would gain friends but I have and it feels good.

Every night though, I could still feel my heart thudding and aching from the dreams that I had awoken from. The dream varied every other night, on some nights my mind would play the moments of our embrace with crystal clear details that it seemed that I was looking at it at that moment. On other nights, I would see Ty-Lee and the pain and anger that were etched on her face at the Boiling Rock. Along with that image I would hear the words that I said to her; the words that broke her. When I awoke from these dreams I'd feel myself shaking in anger and breathing heavily in vain attempts to calm myself down. During the nights when I would not sleep, I made a realization that connected my dreams, my actions and the somewhat change in personality. I was going through the same thing as Zuko, although he was faster at adapting. I was going through my transformation from a machine that lived but never really _**lived,**_ to something in between a machine and a human. I learned how to finally use the small muscle in my chest and felt pain that wasn't physical. I wasn't completely human like the others; they could reveal their emotions while I was still struggling to understand mine but I was getting there. Everyday that I was at that camp surrounded by people who cared, it was that one step closer to getting to the other side of the path. I didn't care how long it would take me but I was getting there.

It was two days in the two months that Zuko and I arrived. Three and a half weeks before the Comet. The main group consisting of Sokka, Suki, Aang, Toph, Katara, Zuko and myself would head out to the Fire Prince's home in Ember Island in three days time. There was a huge fight when the decision was made, mainly between Katara and Sokka. Sokka wanted the main group to be closer to the Fire Nation to make it easier to face the Fire Lord's army and to continue Aang's training. Katara being the stubborn mule that she is protested, saying that there was no need to separate their family anymore. It was inevitable in the end because even the Water Tribes' father agreed to Sokka's plan, ending Katara's arguments.

In the two days before our planned departure, I moved all my things from my room and started sleeping in the courtyard with the others. I would lean against one of the stone pillars with my sword and my bag full of my extra blades ready when needed. It was the day before our departure when Azula finally found us.

The Princess came at dawn when everyone else was still asleep. I was leaning against the pillar, my bare back on the cool stone, my knees drawn up to my chest and my head on the column. I felt exhaustion crash over me for I could not sleep that night but my mind was too excited. I was about to get up and begin my morning training but I felt a slight rumbling beneath my feet. I slung the small bag across my shoulders so it hung on my back diagonally. I tied my sword to my pants and gripped the hilt tightly. I saw that Aang had risen from his spot on the floor and looked around. He walked towards the edge of the temple and suddenly jumped back and was in his fighting stance; his staff gripped tightly in his hands. He then let out a gust of wind and blew a cylinder tube into the air. Before long, the tube exploded.

I ran to the group as Aang used his Airbending to get the metal shields out of the columns for protection. It wasn't long before another bomb hit the shields and the columns, knocking them into rubble. The entire temple shook from the impact of the bomb; the stone on the ceilings dropped to the ground. Then, I heard the ceiling collapse from behind me, a light gasp also coming from behind. I turned around in time to see Zuko pushing Katara out of the way of the falling rocks.

When they were safely out of the way, Katara roughly pushed the Prince of, of her and stormed off angrily. I was about to say something to Zuko when I felt another tremor as another bomb blew off close to where we were. I turned my head and looked to where the bombs were coming from. When I saw the metal Air Ships rising, I gritted my teeth and clenched my fists.

On the top of the ship was Azula herself, laughing as she watched the others scrambling around. Zuko and I were absolutely still. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw Toph opening a passage to allow the others safe passage out to the surface but it wasn't as important as the girl standing on the Air Ship. I was still glaring at Azula when I heard Aang call out faintly, "Zuko, Jang come on!! We have to go!"

I heard Zuko refuse, "No, I have a feeling that this is a family visit. Jang, stay here. This is between me and Azula." He then ran towards Azula's Air Ship. I didn't heed his words. I was about to run after him when Sokka and Aang held me back. I growled in anger and protest. I wanted my revenge against the Princess and I wanted it _**now.**_

I could see Sokka's face strain as he tried to hold me back. He then yelled the sound of the blasts muffling his voice slightly, "Jang! Let's go! Azula is Zuko's fight not yours; we have to go! You can get your revenge another time but now's not it!"

I glanced over to Zuko and Azula who were dueling one another on the top of the Air Ship and I knew that Sokka was right, as much as I wished he wasn't. I stiffly nodded my head and followed the two to the tunnel. I saw that the Fire Nation prisoner, the Water Tribe siblings' father, Teo, Haru and the Duke were already disappearing from the darkness of the tunnel. Aang grabbed Appa's reigns and tried to pull him into the tunnel but the bison only groaned in refusal and stayed put. Behind us, the columns were falling and collapsing, sending chunks of rock everywhere.

One huge rock came towards Suki but I managed to run over to her and grabbed the rock with my fingers. I let out a heavy breath and threw the rock to one of the many fleets of Air Ships, breaking one of the outside engines in the process. I watched it fall with a cold smile on my face. I may have said that I have transformed into a different person but I never said that I have perfected it yet.

When I ran back to the Avatar's side, I heard him yell over the bombs blasting, "Appa doesn't like enclosed spaces! It seems like the only way out is through the fleet. We can make it!"

Everyone jumped on to the air bison. Toph used her Earthbending to cover Appa's face with a thick layer of stone to prevent anything from hitting him. I stood on the bison's saddle and turned to the direction of the tunnel. I used my own Earthbending to cover the entrance of the tunnel to prevent Azula and her soldiers from finding the others. I quickly sat back down when Appa finally rose into the air. We flew under the fleets to try and make it easier for us to escape.

While we were flying, Fire Nation soldiers were standing on the platform jutting out from the ships. They were sending wave after wave of fire in our direction. Some of the waves of fire missed us entirely but other got too close. Aang was too busy flying Appa to help so it was up to Katara and I to deflect the fire. Katara opened her water skins and created a shield of water around us but when the third wave of fire hit us the water turned into steam. When the next wave of fire came, it was going in Toph and Katara's direction. I was sitting right behind them and they weren't moving! Katara was stunned from the speed at which the fire was coming and Toph couldn't see it. I stood up and pushed them roughly aside.

The wave of fire was already too close for me to send another wave of fire to cancel the other one out. I hurried and walked to the edge of the saddle and kicked myself of the bison towards the flame. I used my Firebending to launch myself with my feet to the flame. I clenched my fists and let the wave of fire engulf me. When the fire wrapped around me, I felt the heat burn my skin but when I pushed my arms away from my body, the fire dispersed. I breathed heavily afterwards; severe burns covering my body. I mustered up the last of my strength to Firebend myself back to the bison. When I was finally back on the saddle, the others looked at me with concern. I leaned against the small piece of wood I looked at them in anger, my voice unnecessarily harsh, "I'm _**fine**_!" They looked surprised at my contempt but they turned around anyway. The reason for my anger was that I still wasn't used to anyone seeing me weak and hurt. It was an automatic thing to cover up, to take refuge between my shields. I looked up at Zuko and Azula and saw that they were coming at each other with their fists about to hit; Azula's fire the same blue as my sword and Zuko's red. I knew what was going to happen.

The impact when their flaming fists touched caused them both to blast off the Air Ship. Thankfully though, Zuko fell in our direction, and Katara grabbed his arm and pulled him to the safety of the saddle. But Azula was still falling. For a brief moment I thought that she wasn't going to make it but she used her Firebending out of her feet to launch her to the cliff. She pulled her crown off, causing her waist long hair to fall. When she reached the rocks, she used the crown to stop herself from falling to the bottom. She turned to our direction, her hair waving wildly around her, a triumphant grin on her face.

I gritted my teeth from anger and as another wave of pain washed through me. In the front of the saddle, I heard Zuko mutter, "I guess there was never a doubt that she would make it." We flew for hours until the Air Ships became specks in the sky. As soon as the sun began to start going down, I could tell that we were nearing the Fire Nation. The others began thinking of places where we could stay that was safe but still close enough to the Fire Nation. Zuko and I both looked at one another and instantly I knew we were both thinking of the same place to camp.

I said in a quiet voice, "There's a small island just a few more minutes north from here where we can land. Appa's exhausted. The island has a few rocks around it to block ships from coming around it, there's also a thin strip of land that connects that island to Ember Island. It's located in the least inhabited area of the island so there won't be a problem in anyone seeing us. In the morning, we can walk to the more inhabited side and find a shelter. Zuko has a beach house there, no one goes there anymore. It'll be safe for us there."

Katara eyed Zuko and me suspiciously, though her glare was more directed at Zuko than me. "So you want us to land on an island near the Fire Nation, and in the morning go to the Fire Lord's beach home? How do we know that you're not trying to trap us? For all we know Fire Nation soldiers are waiting for us when we arrive."

The others stared at Katara in surprise but behind the surprise I could see their doubt for us. Zuko was about to say something but I cut him off and said in a cool, hard voice, "Let me tell you this now, if I wanted you captured I wouldn't have stopped that wave of fire from getting to you. Zuko would not have faced his own sister or would have gone with your brother to the Boiling Rock to help rescue your father. Trust me, if the both of us wanted you captured, don't you think that you'd be in a Fire Nation prison by now? Oh and another thing, if we were planning to get all of you captured, why would Zuko and I teach the Avatar the only Element that he needed to learn? It doesn't make sense. I'm just saying."


	20. Chapter 20

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To all the people who've followed this story, I'm really sorry for taking so long to update. I had things to do during the school year and this summer's been pretty busy since I'm still in the process of writing the entire story... So here's chapter 20 of Transformation.

_Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Avatar and it's characters except for the few that I thought up.... : (  
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_The others nodded in agreement and went back to staring out into the open ocean while Katara crossed her arms and glared at me angrily while muttering under her breath, "Oh sure blame me for trying to protect this group."

The sun was right on the horizon by the time we made it on the island. Everyone had gone to set up their tents and prepare for dinner. I looked around to see that mostly everything was settled before I walked to a large rock a few yards away from the campsite. I leaned against the cool stone which helped ease the pain of the burns on my back. I struggled to take my gold bracelets off my arms, and the clasps around my wrists. I gasped out in pain as the skin underneath the bracelets and the clasps were severely burned. I struggled to keep my breathing even as wave after wave of pain hit me.

I heard a slight snap of a twig from around the rock and began to clench my fists instinctively. The fading light was enough for me to see that it was Katara who standing by the rock. I unclenched my fists and said in a tired voice, "What can I do for you Katara?"

Katara came over to me and said in a sincere tone, "I wanted to apologize to you about not trusting _**you**_ earlier. I never should have doubted you. Ever since you came into our group, _**you've**_ done nothing but help us. Again I'm so, so sorry."

I nodded and winced as the action triggered another round of pain. Katara didn't miss it. She looked me over and saw the severity of my burns. She said in a worried, motherly tone, "Jang, let me heal those. I can help-"

"No, I'm fine. There's no need to trouble yourself with me. It's not that bad," I said to her in an unconvincing tone.

She shook her head stubbornly and said, "Right, and I'm a fat moose-lion. You know it's not a weakness to ask for help, or showing that your in pain. Jang, you're a part of this little family now and we help each other. So please, can you let me heal you?"

I processed her words for a moment and after a few long moments, I nodded my head. Katara opened her water skin and let the water gather around her hands. Within moments, they turned to a light blue color. She walked towards me and reached out to touch my arm with glowing water. As soon as the water touched my skin, I instantly felt better, not completely healed but better.

She gently moved her hands over my arms and held them there till my burns were mostly healed. She did my chest and stomach next. I felt her hands quivering when they moved along my body. I smirked, though not unkind, and said, "You have nothing to worry about form me. I know that you and Aang were destined to be together and me, I'm still trying to fix my messed up personal life."

Katara let out a nervous laugh but still continued. After a few more minutes she moved to heal my back. I could hear her breathing a sigh of relief as the awkwardness disappeared. After many long minutes, Katara finished. Most of my burns were completely healed but the severe ones were a faint pink; there was nothing else that Katara could do to heal them. She had already used up most of her energy in healing the other burns.

By the time Katara had finished, night had already settled and the others were sitting around a campfire. I looked at Katara and nodded my head in thanks. She didn't say anything but replied by lightly resting her hand on my shoulder. We both turned our heads when we heard footsteps coming towards us. In the bright light of the waxing moon, we saw Aang looking at us or more specifically, Katara's hand on my shoulder.

When Katara saw where Aang's gaze was directed at, she quickly brought her hand to her side. I saw the two of them lock gazes but they both quickly turned away, their faces turning a visible red despite the dark. Aang was the first person to recover his composure. He said, "Dinner's ready, and uh, uh, we were wondering if you two were coming."

I smiled, and started walking back to the campsite, faintly aware of the two love struck teenagers behind me trying to make conversation but failing ultimately. My smile continued to remain on my face long after everyone was finished with their food.

As soon as everyone started settling down, Aang said, "This camping and eating out in the open reminds me a lot of the old times." Zuko looked up from his food and said in a joking voice, "If uh, you want to make it feel like old times again, I could uh, get up and chase you around the campfire for a while?"

Everyone laughed, even I cracked a smile. All but Katara though. She laughed humorlessly, her laughter filled with sarcasm. No one else seemed to notice except for me.

Sokka raised his glass and said, "Here's to Jang, for stopping that wave of fire from nearly roasting Katara and Toph alive," He nodded his head in my direction and the others said their thanks. I felt my throat tighten from some unknown emotion but I managed to reply with my own nod. Sokka continued, "And here's to Zuko. Who knew after all those times that he tried to smoke us out, today he'd turn out to be our hero. To Zuko!"

Everyone repeated his name and took a long drink from their cups. Zuko looked down in embarrassment and said, "I'm touched but I don't deserve this honor."

I looked over at Katara and saw that she got her opportunity to say something. "You know what you're right, for once! You don't deserve any honor at all."

I watched as she walked away from the campsite and went near to the edge of the cliff. The rough waves of the ocean hitting against the side of the cliff, the partially full moon was shining brightly in the sky. Zuko looked baffled as he stood up from his spot and walked over to Katara. From the distance I could still hear the verbal abuse that the Fire Prince was getting from the younger Water Tribe girl.

Everyone was staring at them along with me; I could sense that they were as sympathetic as I was for the Fire Prince.

After many long minutes, Katara finally came back, her face filled with fury. She sent me a brief glance, her eyes filled with grief underlying the rage before she went into her tent. As soon as she did, the crowd immediately dispersed and went about their business.

Hours later, when the moon was high in the sky, I saw Zuko and Suki both approaching Sokka's tent. I was too far away to hear the conversation that Suki and Zuko were having. It all ended with Suki walking away and Zuko entering Sokka's tent. I shrugged my shoulders think that Zuko and Sokka would probably be talking about something with Katara. I walked away and went back to the campfire and sat down with my legs pulled up to my chest. I watched the glowing embers of the dying fire with intent eyes. When I heard a ruffling behind me, the fire ignited and flamed out. I heard a nervous chuckle behind me. I turned to see Aang holding his hands up as he slowly backed away. I smirked and said apologetically, "I'm sorry Aang, old habits. They die hard."

He smiled and walked over to the campfire and sat to the opposite of me. It was quiet for a few minutes until I asked the young Avatar, "This is not my business but I was just wondering, how long have you been in love with Katara?"

The question caught the boy off guard for he jerked his head up, his eyes wide as he said, "How do you know," he paused and blushed as he just noticed his mistake. He quickly tried to right himself, "I mean, that's the question I would have asked _**if**_ I did have feelings for her."

I laughed wryly. "It's not really so hard to see the feelings that you have for each other. It practically radiates off the two of you. The only people who really can't seem to see it is the two of you. And the funny thing is, she denied it too, when I asked her the similar question."

Aang looked away, his eyes on the ground. He said in a hurt and disappointed tone, "She doesn't have the same feelings for me. I mean first there was Jet. He was this really cool Fire Nation rebel warrior, and he had a crush on Katara and I think the feelings were mutual. After he betrayed her, I was so angry at Jet for hurting her and using her like that. That was when I finally realized that my feelings for her were more than just a crush.

"See, when Katara freed me from the iceberg, I looked into her eyes and I knew immediately that I had this crush on her. I never really said anything about my real feelings for her, but I gave her hints but I don't think she caught on. Before we did the invasion, on the subs, that was the first time I gave her the biggest hint… it was only the two of us there on the subs before we landed on Fire Nation ground. We were talking about stuff, I think the both of us were thinking what would happen if I didn't return alive. When I brought it up, Katara became so defensive saying that I wouldn't and it gave me hope that she might actually like me. Before she finished her rant, I kissed her and she kissed me back after a second but it was so light that I couldn't really tell if it was me or her.

"I flew away after that. When we left after we knew we had lost, I thought that it would take some time before Katara and I would get together but it never happened. And now, that you're here, she talks to you a lot so; I'm guessing that she has feelings for you, not me. After all to her I'm just a cute little guy, just like Momo."

I let out a small chuckle when I heard Aang mutter the last sentence. I sighed and then said, "That's not true. I don't have feelings for Katara, and nor does she have any for me. If she does have this _**crush**_ on me then I'm sorry to say that I cannot return those feelings. I'm in love with somebody else and she is too." I stopped when Aang opened his mouth but I interrupted him. "And no, Aang. I can't tell you who she has those feelings for though it's probably easy for you to guess. It's not my right to say, it's hers. But… you should tell Katara how you feel about her. The longer you wait the harder it will be for you to actually say it. Don't let her slip through your fingers, tell her."

I left Aang to stare at the fire while I went to the other side of the island to the large rock that I was resting on earlier. I sat down and stretched my legs, leaning my head against the cold stone. I looked up and stared up at the stars that covered the sky. It was only two weeks before the Comet; three weeks before the world would either burn to the ground or change for the better. I made a promise to myself. No matter what happened during the final fight, I would do whatever I can to change this broken world, and it didn't matter the extent of sacrifice that I would have to do to get there. I _**would**_ make a difference


	21. Chapter 21

_Kinda short compared to the other chapters but enjoy.._

Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar, only Jang and a few other stuff....

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The next morning I stood up from my spot on the grass. I saw Zuko sitting on the ground in front of Katara's tent, his legs pulled up to his chest his arms forming a pillow for his head. I watched as he raised his head as soon as the Water Tribe girl walked out of her tent.

From the distance I could see her yelling at him but she soon abruptly stopped when Zuko spoke. I saw her tense all the while Zuko spoke but in the end I saw her nod her head. She and Zuko walked towards Appa. I saw them stop to talk with Aang and Sokka near the flying bison. I walked towards them before anything important happened. I was lucky; I arrived in between an argument.

They were arguing about taking Appa to find the Southern Raiders. It seemed that the leader of the Southern Raiders killed the Water Tribe siblings' mother and Katara wanted revenge. The only problem was that Aang and Sokka didn't agree with Katara's way of revenge. Aang wanted Katara to try and forgive the man but Katara wouldn't hear it. It surprised me and the others to hear that Katara wanted to kill the soldier who took her mother's life away. It seems that Katara's violent side was not seen often. Katara soon saw that arguing with the young Airbender was useless so she stalked off with her fists clenched and went back to her tent. Zuko heaved an angry sigh and rolled his eyes in annoyance before he walked off to his tent.

It was late at night when Katara and Zuko tried to steal Appa. I was leaning against one of the rocks near the bison with my arms folded casually over my chest. My face had an amused expression on it. Sokka and Aang were hiding behind a rock that was next to Appa waiting for the two to come. As soon as Katara grabbed Appa's reigns the two younger boys jumped out from behind their hiding place. Aang said in a slightly hurt tone, "You were still going to steal Appa in the end?" Katara gave him a stiff nod but instead of getting angry Aang responded in a calm tone, "Don't worry about it Katara because I _**forgive**_ you. Does that give you any ideas?"

Katara just shook her head and said, "I'm sorry Aang but nothing that you can do will stop me from looking for that man."

The Avatar took a deep breath and exhaled deeply. He looked over at me and begged with pleading eyes, "Jang, could you please talk to Katara and tell her that revenge isn't the answer to everything?"

Katara turned to me; her eyes were blue flames daring me to say something. I smirked and looked back at her with a cool and amused expression. I replied to Aang though my stare never left Katara's. "I don't think that I should be the person that you would want to ask that question. I'm not a good person, if I was in Katara's place, I would have already killed the man. Heck, even now, I'm still waiting for my revenge against my father. There is nothing in this world that I would want more. If anyone hurts me Aang, I will hurt back with no questions asked. Sorry."

The Water Tribe girl looked at me with grateful eyes as she mounted Appa with Zuko following suit. Before they flew off though, Aang said, "I can now see that this is a journey that you need to take Katara, and I just hope that you'll make the right choice in the end. Have a safe voyage."

Katara and Zuko hopped onto Appa with Katara in the front. We watched as Appa groaned and flew into the air. We stayed there until they were nothing more but specks in the sky. I looked over to Aang and saw that he had a troubled expression on his face. I gave him a small smile and briefly put my hand on his shoulder before I walked away.

The next morning after Katara and Zuko left, the others and I gathered all our stuff and walked across the strip of land and walked to the Fire Lord's home. Once we made it there, everyone got settled. The next couple of days since Katara and Zuko had left were uneventful. I helped Aang with his training and demonstrated some moves with him. Sokka and Suki were always in the courtyard catching up with one another and sometimes sparring. Toph lounged around, bored.

At dusk the third day, we saw a shadow in the horizon. They were back! Appa landed by the docks and the five of us watched as two figures jumped off the bison. One figure started moving alongside the bison and one sat on the docks, feet dangling in the water. As soon as Appa made it near us, we saw Zuko walking next to him. We all watched silently as he made his way towards us. Then Aang spoke in a hesitant and unsure tone. "So what happened?"

Zuko locked his gaze with his for a moment and then said to the others, his face passive. "We found the soldier that killed Katara's mother. He was retired and lived on Whale Tail Island and we went to him there. The two of us faced him as he was walking back from the market. As soon as Katara saw him, she snapped. It was scary. It was raining at the time and it was the perfect setting for her. She made icicles form and was about to kill him but before the points could puncture his skin, she stopped. I don't understand why she didn't kill him. It was so obvious that she hated him but she didn't do anything. We got on Appa and left him sitting in the rain. She was quiet the whole ride. So…."

As soon as the Fire Prince finished, Aang ran over to the docks with Zuko and me following behind. The others remained behind sensing that this was something that they shouldn't get involved in. The both of us arrived at the same time that Aang started talking to Katara. He said with admiration and pride in his voice, "Katara, we heard from Zuko. I'm very proud of you. You had the chance to take your revenge on the man but you didn't. You found the strength in yourself to forgive the man."

Katara stood up from the edge of the dock and turned around. She faced Aang but couldn't meet his eyes as she said, "That's the thing though, and I didn't forgive him. I can never forgive him. I don't know if I'm too weak or too strong to not do it. But I do know one person that I am ready to forgive." She walked up to Zuko and hugged him.

I looked at Zuko and saw surprise cross his features but he hugged back. After a few minutes, Katara walked away her gaze still not meeting Aang's. When Katara was a good distance away, Zuko turned to Aang and said, "You were right. Violence wasn't the answer for Katara. It's not her nature."

Aang smiled in Katara's direction and said, "Violence is never the answer to anything."

Zuko's face all the sudden turned solemn, "Then if that is the case, what are you going to do when you have to fight my father? He's many things; a power hungry leader, an excellent bender, and a horrible father but the thing that he is not is merciful. Whatever chance he will get to have you dead, there is no doubt that he will take it. I don't think there's anyway out but to use violence."

He gave Aang one more look before he shrugged his shoulders and walked back to the beach house. Aang stared out into the sea and watched the dying ray's of the sun disappear into the horizon. I walked up to him and put my hand on his shoulder. "Aang, for a kid of your age, you carry the responsibility, the weight of the world on shoulders. I won't lie and say I understand because nobody in this day and age can understand what you're going through." He turned and looked up at me, helplessness written all over his face. "Listen Aang, I'm not going to tell you what you should or should not do. Whether you decide to kill the Fire Lord or find another way, if there is one, to stop him then that's up to you. The whole point of this conversation is that I just want you to know where my loyalties lie. It's with you and you're entire purpose here."

I squeezed his shoulder slightly and nodded at him slightly before I walked away, leaving the boy to try and solve his problem.

A few days later, Zuko, Aang, and I were in the courtyard practicing some Firebending moves. Despite the fact that Katara had forgiven Zuko for what he did to Aang, she still kept a wary eye on the two of them. After our training session, Sokka came rushing out from one of the beach house's many rooms with Suki, both dressed in Fire Nation clothing. The four of us looked at him in confusion. Sokka was carrying a poster in one hand and while the other one was waving to try and get our attention. He then said excitedly, "Guys, guys check this out!"

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_Please read and review... I welcome constructive criticism whenever or wherever it is need throughout this entire story but please no flames... I can deal with them but seriously, how da heck am I supposed to learn anything if some of you just say that you out right hate it?_

_Representin' All Day_


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